Honesty
by artemisgirl
Summary: COMPLETE In a fight with the HIVE, Jinx casts a curse that forces Robin and Raven to tell the truth about everything. Raven and Robin must work together to survive this ordeal as they discover every bit of the truth about each other... RobinRaven
1. Battle

A/N: ((sings)) Guess who's back... back again...Arty's back...tell a friend... :) So, anyway, I have returned! Yes, I the mighty and powerful authoress Artemis have returned from my writing sabbatical and have many new things for you to read! Check out my profile for full details!

Many thanks to Vinnie the Geek, who has beena faithful beta to me through it all! Kudos to you! Also, many thanks to all my devout readers, who have been reviewing and emailing me, asking me to start writing again. You guys are the best!

And now, without further ado, may I present...

**Honesty**

**Chapter 1**

The Titans were exhausted, having just beaten the HIVE academy's top three students once more. Gizmo, Jinx, and Mammoth had been intent on robbing the jewelry store of its vault of priceless sapphires, and the Titans had been dispatched to stop their thievery.

Now, having successfully foiled the rogue teens' plans, the Titans were helping the authorities to finish up.

Starfire was fixing the damage the battle had done to the surrounding area. Beast Boy was soothing scared bystanders that had witnessed the fight. Cyborg was helping to fit Mammoth into the police transport unit, while Robin was booking the criminals. And Raven was cleaning up the broken glass that covered the street.

At least, she would have been, if she weren't busy arguing with Jinx.

"You insolent little nitwit!" Raven said angrily, her cape billowing out behind her with her rage, as she glowered at the pink-haired sorceress, who was tied up tightly with special ropes, designed to prevent the use of her magic. "Do you have any idea what you might have done?"

"Not really," Jinx said coolly, boredly picking at her nails. "Why?"

"You could have seriously done some damage!" Raven spat. _I hate this girl,_ Raven thought angrily. _I absolutely hate her._ Aloud, she said, "You're just a petty criminal! Why'd you use such a powerful spell?"

"I have absolutely _no_ idea what you are talking about," Jinx said coldly.

Raven glared at Jinx, and moved down so her face was inches away from her own.

"Don't think you can pull that crap on me," Raven breathed, her eyes fiery with rage. "You tried to put a malediction curse on Robin so he would get leprosy!"

"What's the big deal?" Jinx asked, getting annoyed with Raven's insistent questioning. "Leprosy can be cured nowadays, anyway."

"That's an evil sadistic thing to do!" Raven said furiously. "That's the big deal!"

"Oh, you're overreacting," Jinx said dismissively. "I'm a criminal. I'm _supposed_ to be evil, aren't I? Besides, Robin deserves some of the misery he makes us endure in prison."

"Leave Robin alone!" Raven said, enraged, her eyes flashing.

"Ooh, why so sensitive about Robin?" Jinx asked, grinning at Raven's reaction. "A bit overly fond of your mysterious masked leader, are you?"

"No!" Raven denied forcefully.

"Oh, come now," Jinx said, her tone mocking. "Tell the truth. You fancy Bird Boy!"

"I do not!" Raven said angrily, her eyes alight with malice.

"Then why do you care about him so much?" Jinx challenged.

"He's my friend, imbecile!" Raven said curtly. "Of course I care about him!"

"You didn't react nearly as strongly when I tried to curse Beast Boy with chronic warts," Jinx shot back. "He's your friend too."

"That's different!" Raven argued, frustrated that she was actually bothering to argue the matter with the villainess.

"Yeah: You don't have a crush on Beast Boy," Jinx said, smirking.

"No! It's just Robin's our leader!" Raven reasoned, scowling. "We can't get along without him!"

"You've gotten along fine without him before," Jinx pointed out, smiling sardonically. "Plus, he wouldn't have died. Leprosy's curable with modern medicine now, remember? It's not _necessarily _deadly anymore."

Raven gently massaged her temples, feeling the beginnings of a migraine coming on from all her pent-up frustration at the witch.

"I-do-not-like-Robin," she spat, annunciating each syllable clearly as if she were speaking to a slow child. "Deal with it."

"Sure…" Jinx said sarcastically.

Fed up and fully frustrated, Raven marched over to the police that were documenting the arrest alongside Robin.

"What are you charging them all with?" Raven demanded.

"Why?" Robin asked, surprised. He usually dealt with this part of their duty alone.

"I need to know," she said sourly.

"Robbery, assault and battery, and conspiracy," the chief policeman told her, flicking through the papers on his clipboard.

"I want Jinx charged with reckless endangerment and attempted murder," Raven instructed curtly. "I'll testify on the behalf of both charges."

"Attempted murder?" Robin asked incredulously, an eyebrow raised. "The HIVE usually just mess around, not really trying to hurt anyone. Are you sure?"

Raven looked at her leader, and her expression softened. She had been horror struck when she recognized the curse Jinx had shot at him, unable to move. Everything had seemed to slow down, as Raven watched the hex shoot at Robin, slowly, rolling through the air. Raven had experienced the abstract terror of a world without Robin, and had realized that it was not a place she could bear to live. Luckily, her body had reacted, and pushed Robin out of the way just in time.

Raven regarded his concerned expression for a moment, just taking it in for a bit. A small smile played about her lips at the concern creasing the Boy Wonder's face.

"I'm sure," Raven said gently, her eyes soft. "Trust me on this one, Robin. Jinx wasn't just messing around this time."

"Okay," Robin said simply. "I trust your judgement."

Raven smiled, the simple statement reassuring her and warming her. "Thanks," she said, smiling up at him softly.

Robin smiled back. "You're welcome," he said softly. Pausing, he opened his mouth to speak again. "Raven, I-"

"What's going on, goth girl?" Jinx jeered loudly, cutting Robin off. "Too afraid of me that you have to go running to your lover-boy for protection?"

Robin shot Raven a look.

"Lover-boy?" he questioned, a carefully measured emotionless look on his face.

Raven ducked her head, a slight blush gracing her cheeks.

"I'll handle this," Raven assured him. She smiled at him one last time, before turning and stalking back over to Jinx, her cloak billowing behind her. Robin watched after her, curious.

"You're going to be in jail for the rest of your life," Raven informed Jinx, a thin triumphant smile on her face. "Leprosy is often fatal, and you knew this before you used the curse. That's attempted murder, a class A felony."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Jinx exclaimed. "Attempted murder? Me? Are you joking?"

"Oh, no, sorry, I'm not. Did it seem like I was?" Raven asked, putting on an air of false sympathy. A thin evil smirk was directed at Jinx with this. "Such a shame that you'll have to spend the _rest of your life _in prison," Raven went on, her cutting sarcasm making Jinx grit her teeth angrily. "You had your whole life ahead of you, but now it'll be tragically wasted away in jail."

"You **bitch!**" Jinx yelled, furious. The Titans all turned to watch incredulously. Passerby turned to see what the commotion was about. "You're going to lock me up in jail forever because I nearly hurt your crush? You're insane!"

Raven smiled viciously.

"Insane or not, you're going to prison for the _rest of your life_,  
she smirked. "We'll see who's insane then." Raven turned and started walking away. "Oh, and Jinx?" she called back over her shoulder. "He's _not_ my crush."

"Yes he is!" Jinx shrieked after her, hysterical, her shrill yells making everyone in the vicinity stare. "Admit it! You're madly passionately in love with him! You're just terrified of rejection, so you try not to show it! But you know you like him!"

Raven whirled around, livid.

"I am not scared of rejection!" Raven yelled back, nearby windows shattering as Jinx touched a nerve. "And I don't like him!"

"Yes you do!" Jinx screamed, clawing at her ropes, trying to break free so she could strangle Raven to death.

"No I don't!" Raven yelled, her eyes flashing as a hunk of the road exploded, showering them all with gravel and dirt.

"Yes you do!" Jinx screamed again, her pink eyes glowing with fury.

"**NO I DON'T!"** Raven yelled forcefully, completely enraged at the pink enchantress. A parked car on the street suddenly blew up, forming a massive fireball, sending sparks and flaming metal everywhere.

"No!" Raven cried, as she realized her volatile emotions had, once again, put innocent people at risk. She flung a hand towards the fiery mess, quickly enfulging it in a black aura just before it hit the crowds of people around.

As Raven directed the shards of fire and steel to a safer landing place, she could faintly smell a putrid odor, reminiscent of celery and fish burning. It smelled like burnt nylon rope or twine…

_Jinx's ropes…_ Raven thought numbly. _They must have been hit with the embers…and burned through…_

Slowly, Raven turned to see Jinx grinning up maliciously at her from the ground, dangling the scorched ends of her bindings from her hands. Tossing them aside, Jinx rose, her magical energy building, the pink power crackling around her ominously.

"Let's try this again," Jinx said, grinning malevolently. "Do you like him?"

"No," Raven responded automatically.

"Liar!" Jinx yelled, sending sharp slashes of pink energy at Raven.

"Raven!" Robin yelled, moving towards his teammate, who gracefully dodged the attack.

"Stay where you are!" Jinx demanded, flicking her hand at the Titans and drawing a figure in the air. Two gigantic arms of hot pink energy burst from the road, scattering gravel and dirt along the street. They swept the remaining four Titans up in a cruel hug, holding them tightly in the air. The Titans struggled, their feet dangling, barely brushing the ground, trying frantically to escape, to no avail.

"No!" Robin exclaimed frustratedly, squirming, his arms pinned to his sides.

"Do you like Robin?" Jinx yelled at Raven, the sorceress clearly enjoying every minute of this battle.

"No!" Raven yelled, scowling. Mentally reaching behind her and ripping a clod of dirt from the earth, Raven launched it at Jinx.

"Yes you do!" Jinx screamed. With a grin, the evil enchantress reached out with her pink energy and swamped the dirt ball, before hurling it back at Raven, ten times harder.

"I'll ask you again: do you like Robin?" Jinx called, as Raven expertly leapt over the pink dirt ball, before it crashed into a building behind her.

"No!" Raven screamed, her power tearing a tree up from the ground, roots dangling in the air, showering the ground with soil and earthworms. She swung it at Jinx, who blasted through it with a blaze of pink fire.

"You do so!" Jinx yelled, now more angry than any other emotion. "Tell the truth!" Jinx viciously slashed an arm at the ground in a strange gesture. Suddenly, an army of pink energy snakes erupted, hissing and spitting venomously. Raven's eyes widened, as the beasts charged at her furiously.

Raven took to the air, hovering above the ground, focussed on blasting the serpents with her dark power, as they reared up and tried to strike her. The snakes just kept coming, however, no matter how many Raven killed. Jinx laughed cruelly.

"I'll ask you one last time: do you like Robin?" Jinx called to the telepath, who was busy destroying the evil energy snakes.

"No!" Raven responded automatically, as she hurriedly destroyed several snakes that had reared up high enough to strike her face.

Jinx snarled. Raising her hands above her head, she summoned a pink bolt of lightning. She turned it over in her hands, a cruel smirk on her face.

Robin had been watching this exchange from the sidelines, still trapped by the immense pink arms. No thought had traveled through his head the entire time, his mind solely focussed on the great battle. When Jinx had summoned the lightning bolt, however, a thought slowly trailed through Robin's mind.

_That's a spell, like the one she shot at me earlier…_ Robin dimly recognized. He turned to look at his dark teammate, who was busy blasting the snakes. _And Raven's too preoccupied with the snake things to do anything about it…_

Something clicked in Robin's mind. Jinx was going to throw this thing at Raven, and she didn't know it. She couldn't do anything to prevent it, being entirely engaged in fighting the distracting snakes. She was going to be hit by this spell. And there was nothing she could do about it.

With a sharp well-aimed kick to the wrist of the pink arm that was containing him, the arm weakened slightly, and Robin fell to the ground. He lay there briefly, dazed.

Robin got to his feet hurriedly, crouching beneath the arms, Jinx oblivious to his escape, being preoccupied with the spell in her hands. He snuck along the side, getting closer to Raven, while trying to avoid the criminal's notice. The other Titans, taking advantage of the space created by Robin's sudden absence in the arms, slipped out of their grasp as well.

As a particularly large snake reared up to bite Raven, Jinx cocked her arm back, and hurled the spell at Raven, while yelling, "Tell the truth!" Robin jumped out from his hiding place and sprinted towards Raven as fast as he could, intent on rescuing the dark maiden.

As Raven finished blasting the snake, she turned, having heard Jinx's yell. A giant, pink lightning bolt was speeding at her, and it was too close for her to do anything about it. Raven felt fear flash through her, at the thought that this could very well be the end of her life.

"No!" Robin yelled, leaping into the air and tackling Raven, pushing her out of the way of the spell just in time for her to avoid the full brunt of the impact.

The spell sliced through the air above them, skinning Raven's back and the top of Robin's head. Pink energy surged through them, the spell taking its intended course, and Raven cried out at the contact. Robin gritted his teeth, as excruciating pain flashed through him as the curse hit.

They tumbled to the ground, rolling on the road before stopping. Raven groaned, having fallen from quite a height in the air. Robin was out cold.

Jinx walked over to Raven, and looked down at the fallen girl triumphantly, oblivious to the other Titans sneaking up behind her. Raven twitched, in great pain from the fall, likely about to pass out. "Now, tell me honestly: do you like Robin?" Jinx asked, smirking down at the pained girl.

"No," Raven choked out, as blackness clouded her vision. Jinx's eyes widened. "I love him."

The last thing Raven saw was Cyborg flying through the air, tackling Jinx, as she lost consciousness and passed out.

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Ooh, evil cliffhanger, eh? Well, you'll just have to review and tell me what you think for me to update again soon, won't you? ((grins)) :D

Remember, please review, and let me know what you think! Anything you don't understand fully will be fully explained in the next chapter, so don't worry. Review!


	2. Awakening

A/N: HA! New chapter in little over a week! It would've been exactly aweek if Vinnie had betaed and sent this back last night.  
Many thanks to all the reviewers who reviewed! I was ecstatic from all the nice comments and compliments I got! And, like I told you, reviews do not go unnoticed, so here is the new chapter after one week, instead of my customary two. Many thanks again!

Now, to the story! I know that cliffhanger just about _killed_ you all... :-P

**Honesty**

**Chapter 2**

Raven groaned. Every muscle in her body was achy and sore, as if she had been flung off of a cliff. Grunting, Raven rolled over, trying to go back to sleep. Her bruised body objected, however, sending daggers of pain through her as she moved.

_What happened to me?_ Raven wondered, grimacing at the pain, her eyes still shut and her face in her pillow. _Why do I hurt so badly?_

Memories assailed Raven, as she remembered the fight between herself and Jinx. She remembered how she had been about to be hit Jinx's curse, but Robin had pushed her out of the way just in time.

_No wonder I'm so sore, _Raven thought. _Robin and I fell from pretty high up. _

Rolling over to her left side, Raven opened her eyes, blinking as her they adjusted to the light. She looked around her, and realized she was _not_ in her room.

For one thing, there was _light_ in the room. There was actual sunlight filtering in brightly from a window somewhere, something that was _never_ in _her_ room. The bedding pulled around her was an unusual pale blue, instead of her customary dark gray blankets. The walls were off-white, with dusty orange-brown carpet, dusty orange stripes of color, and wooden molding accentuating the room. There were wooden shelves around the room, a wooden chest of drawers on the floor, wooden closet doors, and a white leather punching bag dangling from the ceiling. The room was simple and uncluttered, and immaculately clean. The automatic metal doors, however, told her that she was, at least, somewhere in the tower.

Trying to put all the details together, Raven rolled over to her left side to see the rest of the room. The sunlight was coming from a wall length window, preventing her from seeing anything else but tiny red circles of pain from the light. Squinting madly, Raven mentally drew the pale blue curtains half shut, and sighed, relieved, as the sunlight lessened considerably. She could now tell from the dim reddish glow outside that it was evening.

_I must have slept all day, _Raven thought, slightly shocked. _I never sleep that much!_ Gathering her thoughts, Raven glanced about the new part of the room. When she looked around, however, she would have fallen over with shock had she been standing up.

Robin was on a bed about ten feet away from her own. He had several bruises and scabbing cuts, and looked to still be asleep. His breathing was measured and even, though, and he looked peaceful, despite his wounds. Raven flushed lightly. It seemed wrong, somehow, to invade his privacy like this and watch him sleep, despite the fact that _someone _had put her here with him.

As Raven sighed and looked around the neat room again, realization slammed into her. _I'm in Robin's room!_ she thought, gasping, as she finally recognized her surroundings. _They put me in Robin's room, all alone with him!_

Robin stirred at her gasp, and Raven promptly shut her mouth and watched as he groaned, shifted, and sat up.

Raven watched as he rubbed his eyes through his mask, and looked at the window. _He's probably trying to figure out what's going on,_ she observed. _At least he knows he's in his own room._

Robin yawned, turned, and jumped slightly when he saw Raven leaning up on her elbow, watching him.

"Raven!" he exclaimed, clearly surprised.

"Robin!" Raven responded, imitating Robin's tone of shock and surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Robin demanded, sounding put off, presumably at having awakened suddenly to see a strange girl in his room.

"I have no idea," Raven heard herself say honestly, before she really knew that she was speaking. Raven scowled. There were a thousand better responses than that. "I just woke up, and here I was."

Robin raised an eyebrow skeptically at her, and glanced around the room, apparently looking for further clues.

"Do _you_ have any idea what's going on?" Raven asked, slightly irritated at his disbelieving persona, as she sat up on the bed.

"Not a clue," he said promptly. Robin looked surprised as he spoke, as if he didn't mean to. "What do you remember from before we got knocked out?" he asked, trying to piece things together.

"Fighting Jinx," Raven responded automatically. "She had conjured energy serpents, and I was battling them."

"I remember that too," Robin said, rubbing his head slightly. "You were so busy fighting the snake things that you didn't see her summon another spell to hit you with."

"And you pushed me out of the way," she said, looking at him curiously. "You risked your life to save mine."

Robin blushed slightly. "So?" he said airily, trying to shrug it off.

"So it's a very selfless romantic thing to do," Raven heard herself say. Aghast, Raven clapped a hand over her mouth, stunned by what had just slipped out. Robin turned and looked at her incredulously. "What did you say?" he asked, unbelieving.

"I said that it was a very selfless and romantic thing to do," Raven heard herself respond. Raven groaned and threw her head into her pillow frustratedly.

"Why?"

"Because it's true," Raven said into her pillow, her face flushing embarrassedly. Pulling her face out of her pillow, she turned to Robin and angrily demanded, "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Robin said instantly, the words seeming to come out of his mouth of their own accord. Robin's eyes widened. Understanding sparked in Raven's eyes.

"We have to tell the truth!" Raven exclaimed. "Whenever someone asks us a question, we're forced to respond truthfully, whether we want to or not!"

"Really?" Robin asked skeptically.

"Really," Raven said automatically. Shaking her head, she elaborated. "Remember, when you tried to push me out of the way of Jinx's curse, it hit us slightly?"

"Yeah," Robin responded reflexively.

"Her curse must have made us speak only the truth!" Raven said, triumphant.

Robin looked thoughtful. "That would make a lot of sense," he admitted. "When she shot the curse at you, Jinx yelled, 'tell the truth' at you."

Raven looked smug. "It all makes sense," she said, smiling triumphantly. "That's what the curse must have done."

"You look beautiful when you smile," Robin said impulsively. It was his turn to clap a hand over his mouth in horror, as Raven looked to him, an eyebrow raised.

"What did you say?" she asked, disbelieving.

"I said that you look beautiful when you smile," Robin repeated, wincing as the words flew out of his mouth.

"Why?" Raven asked, without thinking.

"Because it's true," he said, repeating Raven's earlier words. He groaned embarrassedly and covered his eyes with his hands momentarily. Scowling, he stood up, and began to pace around the room.

"So, because of a spell Jinx hit us with, we both have to speak the truth," he said, summarizing. "Apparently, we both have to answer any question directed at us honestly, and we seem to be honest about our thoughts as well." He determinedly looked at the floor, not making eye contact with Raven as he paced. "So, we're stuck here until the others let us out, I suppose," he finished.

"You never tried the door," Raven said automatically, "so you don't know if we can get out or not."

Robin cocked his head at her, and considered. "True," he admitted.

"Of course," Raven smirked. "I can only speak the truth, can't I?"

"Yep," Robin said immediately, as he went to the door and tried to open it. "It's locked," he said, pushing the keypad repeatedly. "The Titans must have locked us in."

"Why?" Raven asked.

"I don't know," Robin said reflexively. Sighing at his instant response, Robin pulled out his communicator from his belt. "How about we find out?" he suggested.

"Yes!" Raven said quickly, meaning every word of her automated response this time. Robin sat down on the bed next to her, and flipped the cover open, and Raven withdrew her own and did the same.

"Titans! Come in!" Robin said into it. "Is anyone there?"

"Hey, Robin!" Cyborg's face flickered into view. "Give me a second." Some dull crashing of metal was heard, and Robin and Raven sweatdropped. Cyborg's face flickered back into view. "Nice to see you up and about, man! And Raven! You doing okay?"

"No. My whole body aches and I feel like shit," Raven said bluntly. Robin snickered, and Raven moaned and covered her face with her hands.

"Yeah, that'll happen," Cyborg said sympathetically. "Look on the bright side: at least you're not dead."

"Whatever," Raven said, rolling her eyes.

"Cyborg, why are Raven and I locked in my room?" Robin asked. "And what happened to the HIVE?"

"Oh, we took care of them easy," Cyborg scoffed. "Jinx was so drained after that last spell, it was a piece of cake."

"Then why are we locked in my room?" Robin asked irritably.

"When Jinx's last spell hit you, it mixed with that spell that had just grazed you earlier," Cyborg explained. "I ran a diagnostic. According to the results, not only do you both have to speak the truth and reveal your thoughts, as her curse intended, but it's also highly contagious as well, as a result of the magical residue left in you from her last spell.

Raven coughed, muttering something that sounded vaguely like 'stupid bitch'. Robin shot her a look.

"So you put us in here to prevent infecting the rest of the team?" Robin gathered.

"Yep," Cyborg responded, looking over his shoulder. "Hang on," he said, then yelled over his shoulder, "BB, don't you dare touch my barbecue! I'll skin you alive!" Turning back to them, he continued, "Your room's the farthest away from the other rooms, plus, I didn't think Raven would let me live if I went in her room."

Raven scowled. "How long is this going to last?" she demanded. "Are we going to spend the rest of our lives locked away and speaking the truth?"

"Nope," Cyborg said, ignoring Raven's curt tone. "It'll last a week, at the most."

"How are we going to eat?" Robin asked. "If we're being quarantined, no one will be able to get us food."

"We've got that solved, too," Cyborg smirked. "Seeing as Jinx put you in this position, she's going to be bringing you your meals. As part of her punishment, she has to help out around the tower until you guys are better."

"Are you kidding?" Raven asked incredulously. "This is nearly too good to be true!"

"It's true, all right," Cyborg laughed. "She even has this neat collar thingy on that stops her from using her magic. She has to do what we say."

Raven laughed at that, and a **_boom _**was heard over the communicator as something in the living room blew up. "Jeez, watch it Raven!" Cyborg said, irritated. "I just replaced that light bulb!"

"Why can Jinx give us our meals, but you guys can't? Won't she get infected too?" Robin asked, ignoring Cyborg's words.

"Nah," Cyborg said dismissively. "She's immune to her own spells. Lucky thing, too, or you two would starve."

"So, we're stuck here, then?" Robin said, his tone resigned.

"Yep," Cyborg said. "Anymore questions, or do you guys understand now?"

"We understand," Raven and Robin said simultaneously. They shot each other looks, and quickly turned away.

Cyborg cracked into an evil grin. "I have some questions, then. Robin, when was the last time you cried? Raven, when did you-"

Raven snapped her communicator shut promptly, as Robin said, "A year ago," and shut his hurriedly as well.

"Figures he'd take advantage of our predicament to gain blackmail material," Robin muttered darkly. Raven, however, was looking at Robin with a curious expression.

"You cried a year ago?" she asked.

"Yes," Robin muttered. "What's it to you?"

"You just don't seem the crying type," Raven said simply. "Why'd you cry?"

Robin muttered something unintelligible.

"What was that?" Raven asked, leaning closer to listen.

"I said I'd gotten caught in my zipper," Robin said loudly, his face flushing. Raven tried not to laugh, but her amusement sparkled in her eyes.

"When's the last time _you _cried?" Robin challenged, a vindictive gleam in his eyes. "Turnabout's only fair."

"October 9th," Raven said automatically, remembering

"You know the precise date?" Robin teased, while Raven muttered a yes. "Why?"

"It was a memorable day," Raven said carefully, making sure not to let the curse blurt out too much.

"Why? What happened on that day?" Robin asked, truly curious.

"Something bad," Raven said evasively, her emotions rising slightly in her tone.

"What _specifically_ happened on that day?" Robin asked. Raven sighed.

"It was the day I found out Malchior had been lying to me," Raven admitted softly. Robin looked ready to kill himself for bringing such a sensitive topic up.

"I'm sorry," he said emphatically. "I didn't mean to bring up such painful memories."

"It's okay," Raven said, her tone withdrawn. "You didn't know."

"I'm still sorry, though," Robin said. He tilted her chin up so he could see her eyes. "I'm sorry," he said gently.

Raven looked at him, her eyes slightly wet. Their eyes locked, and neither seemed able to break the gaze. They sat there, silently looking at one another, neither speaking a word.

A digital alarm clock on Robin's nightstand beeped, signaling the hour, the noise breaking the spell. Raven looked away, while Robin cleared his throat and stood up. A smile sparked on Robin's face, and Raven could've sworn she practically saw a light bulb flicker on over his head. Robin fell to his knees before his drawers, opened the top one, and withdrew a battered box.

"How about a game of checkers before Jinx brings dinner up?" Robin suggested, shaking the box, and offering her a timid smile.

Raven smiled back, a genuine one. "That'd be great," she said honestly. Robin smiled back, set the game down on the bed, and proceeded to set up the board.

Raven watched Robin as he went about setting the board up and arranging the pieces. _This isn't so bad…_Raven thought. _We're just going to hang out with each other like we normally do, mostly. _She looked up at Robin, who caught her gaze and smiled at her. Raven smiled back, her cheeks flushing slightly to match the fiery sky of the setting sun outside. _Maybe this won't be so bad after all…_

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So, what did you think? What do you think will happen next? Review and let me know! You know the more reviews I get, the more motivated I am to write more... :) Please review!


	3. Checkers

A/N: I noticed that it takes me about a week and a day to get a chapter up and ready. I also noticed that I tend to get more reviews if I post in the middle of the week. Go figure. Anyway, expect the next chapter on Wednesday or so. I've already started it. 

A public apology to Vinnie, who got mad at me blaming him for my day-late chapter last time. I'm _soo_ sorry, Vinnie. I _beg_ for your forgiveness.

Once again, many thanks to all of my great reviewers! You guys are the best! Do you have any idea how ecstatic I am when I get a review?

I'm still fiddling with switching POV's in 3rd person objective. So, this chapter is written from Robin's POV.

**Honesty**

**Chapter 3**

Robin watched numbly as Raven casually jumped over his last three pieces in quick succession. "I win again," Raven said, removing the checkers. "Want to play again?"

"Yes," Robin said, scowling slightly, his response honest and automatic because of the curse. "I'm not giving up until I beat you."

"Then we'll be here forever," Raven said, smiling slightly. She rearranged the pieces for their fourth game in a row.

"How did you learn to play so well, anyway?" asked Robin, moving a piece forward.

"I don't really know," Raven said, considering his statement while moving to the side. "I like strategy games that make you think more than others, though. Maybe that has something to do with it."

"Cool," Robin said, smiling. "It probably does."

Raven smiled back, before letting out a slight yawn. Shifting her position, Raven reached out behind her, stretching like a cat does after it wakes. Robin's eyes couldn't help but take in the sight of the lithe mystic stretching.

Raven rolled her shoulders and leaned back as far as she could until her back made a satisfying crack.

"Ouch!" Robin said, wincing. "That sounds like it hurt!"

"It didn't," Raven assured him, smiling as she settled back down onto the bed. She lay down on her side this time, propping her head up in one hand, her knees slightly bent. "It felt rather good, actually."

_Don't think of Raven feeling good,_ Robin's brain commanded him instantly, as Raven made her move. _You can blurt out your thoughts. You can think of that later_.

Robin blinked, and looked at the board, to see that Raven had jumped him again. Sighing, he moved a piece.

"Are you _sure_ you didn't learn how to play checkers from some grand master?" he accused, causing her to grin slightly.

"I'm quite sure," she responded, moving again. "I was only trained in one game."

"Really?" Robin asked, slightly startled as Raven nodded. She smiled slightly at having startled him. Robin was shocked. He had been joking about being trained to play a game. "What game?"

"Chess," Raven responded simply.

"No way!" Robin exclaimed. "I was trained in chess too!"

It was Raven's turn to be incredulous. "Are you kidding me?" she asked, disbelieving.

"Nope!" Robin said, grinning at her stunned expression. "My mentor thought it was important to learn strategy, and what better way than through a high-class intellectual game?"

"No idea," Raven conceded. "Still, it's a bit strange to be trained to play a game."

"I wasn't _exactly_ trained to play a game. I was more trained in strategy _through_ chess," Robin said, laughing. "I don't think _anyone's _trained _just_ to be good at a game."

"I was," Raven remarked, a slight grin on her face as she moved again.

"No way!" Robin said, astonished. "You were _actually trained_ to play a game for no other purpose?" Raven nodded. "Why?" Robin asked curiously as he made his move. Raven bit her lip.

"It is customary for royalty to settle disputes with others of high class with a game of chess," Raven said delicately. She was obviously trying very hard to phrase her words carefully through the curse, but judging from the scowl on her face, she couldn't leave out as much as she had wanted to.

"You're _royalty?_" Robin asked, astounded. Raven winced, but nodded. "What's your title? Where do you rule? Why have you never told us about this?" Robin asked, excitement creeping into his voice. _I knew Raven was stunning,_ Robin thought, _but I never knew she was royal._

"Raven Metrion, Ri'is al Tri'vinthos entan Ki'in," Raven said flatly, reciting the answers to Robin's questions like reading aloud from a dull book. "I don't rule anywhere, and I don't like to talk about my past."

"You don't like to talk about your past?" Robin asked, curious.

"No," Raven said.

"Why not?" Robin asked, trying to be emphatic.

"Because of what it is," Raven responded, scowling at her obligatory response. "I just don't," Raven added curtly, her tone sharp. Robin winced slightly.

"What's your title mean in English?" Robin asked, changing the subject. Raven sighed.

"Princess Raven, demoness of the Underworld," Raven deadpanned. Robin raised an eyebrow. "Don't ask," Raven said, waving a hand dismissively. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Sorry," Robin apologized, flushing. _How could I be so stupid?_ Robin berated himself. _She already said she didn't want to talk about it, yet I press the issue._

"It's okay," Raven said, smiling slightly. "It's your turn."

"Oh," Robin said, hurrying to make his move. Raven snickered. "I got distracted," he said.

"I noticed," Raven teased, a half-smile playing around her lips. She looked up from the board, and, seeing Robin still slightly upset, paused.

"Robin," she said gently. "Chill. It's okay. You just brought up a bit of a sensitive subject; one that I'm not ready to talk about just yet. I'll discuss it with you some other time, okay?"

"Okay," Robin responded, watching as Raven jumped him. Robin paused, and then asked, "Are you mad at me?"

Raven laughed. "No, I'm not mad at you," she said amusedly. "If I was, you'd know."

Robin laughed. "Is that a threat or a joke?" he teased, smiling.

"Both," Raven said, laughing. "Are you going to move?"

"Oh, yes, sorry," Robin said, quickly moving a checker. Raven smirked, and proceeded to double jump him.

"Cheater," Robin muttered loudly, earning a laugh from Raven. He grinned at her and moved again. Raven immediately jumped him and got a new king.

"You're very good at this," Robin said, as he moved again.

"Thanks," Raven said, blushing slightly, as she looked at the board, contemplating her next move.

"You are," Robin insisted. "I'm not just saying it. I can only tell the truth, anyway, can't I?"

"We don't know that," Raven responded mechanically. Robin raised an eyebrow. Rolling her eyes at her automated response, Raven elaborated.

"We only know for sure that we have to answer questions honestly; though, if we focus, we can change the wording of our answer," Raven explained, as Robin jumped his first piece of hers, which she quickly jumped in return. "We also know that we are rather prone to blurting out our thoughts. We haven't tested, however, to see if we can't tell a lie."

"How are we supposed to test _that_?" Robin asked, moving.

"Simple. Just try to tell a lie," Raven said, moving. "King me."

_That's easy enough,_ Robin thought, as he kinged her checker. _"My name is Raven," _Robin tried to say.

Somehow, though, the words just wouldn't come out.

Robin tried again. _"Cyborg loves tofu." _The words ran loudly in his mind, but his mouth and voice box refused to comply, and the lie would not form.

Raven watched on amusedly. "I guess we _can't_ lie, then," she said, smirking, as she double jumped Robin with her new king. "That sucks. How am I supposed to be cynical and highly sarcastic now?"

"I have no idea. I'm sure you'll manage, though," Robin responded, laughing. Raven looked up at him, her lips quirking into an odd smile.

"Oh, sure. **_You_** think it's funny," she accused, dramatically waggling a finger at him. "You're not the one whose reason for existence just flickered out."

Robin laughed at her melodramatic statement, and Raven grinned slightly. "See?" Robin said, chuckling. Raven shook her head, her forced honest response coming non-verbally this time. "I told you you'd be able to be sarcastic without telling a lie," Robin explained, grinning. "You had nothing to worry about. You can work around it."

"Yeah," Raven said, smiling as she understood. "I guess I can."

"Of course you can." Words spilled from Robin's lips without him wanting to speak. His eyes widened, but he continued on nevertheless. "You can do anything when you set your mind to it. It's just one of the many ways in which you're amazing." Raven jerked her head up at this, looking to Robin intently.

"You… you think I'm amazing?" she asked, looking slightly stunned.

_Oops…_ Robin thought, wincing. _She wasn't supposed to know that. Damage control time…_

"Yes," Robin admitted.

"Really?" Raven said, looking up, her eyes wide. Was it just Robin, or did there seem to be a note of hope in her voice, and was there a bit of a blush on her cheeks?

_No,_ Robin thought. _She's just asking. You're seeing things that aren't there. _

"Yes, really," Robin confirmed, knowing he had to say the truth. "Just look at you," he elaborated, intending to lessen the meaning. "You kick ass at checkers, you're a great fighter, you're a spectacular Titan, and you're a great part of this team. Of course you're amazing." Robin watched closely for her reaction.

Raven stiffened for a moment, before quickly returning to normal, Robin noticed. But while a moment ago she had been smiling and genuine with him, open and friendly, she now gave off an aura of distinct coldness and chill, as if she had put on a mask or façade.

_What was that? _Robin wondered. Slightly confused, Robin tucked it away

"I'm an amazing part of this team," Raven repeated flatly. "Great."

"I mean it, Raven," Robin said, misunderstanding her tone. "You're my friend. I'm not joking around with you."

"I'm your friend," Raven repeated dully. Robin raised an eyebrow.

_What is going on? _Robin wondered. _A second ago we were fine, now she's all distant. What did I do?_

Raven abruptly stood up. "I'm going to take a shower before dinner," she announced, heading for the bathroom. "I'll eat when I get out."

"But what about the game?" Robin objected, watching her go. Raven paused, and cast a black aura-encased hand behind her. One of her black checkers rose and quadruple jumped Robin's remaining checkers.

"There," Raven said. "Game over." With that, she went into the bathroom, promptly locking the door.

"Great," Robin groaned, flopping back on his bed, as he heard Raven turn on the shower. "What did I do now?"

A sharp knock came at the door. Robin sat up, to see it open, revealing a haughty Jinx.

"Your dinner is served," she said sarcastically, holding out several little cartons of Chinese food.

"Just put them on the dresser," Robin said, gesturing. "You came a bit too late. Raven's in the shower now."

"And I care why?" Jinx sneered, setting down the food.

"Because you hate Raven and you missed your chance to argue with her," Robin responded automatically, the words spilling from his lips. Jinx smirked.

"Curses aren't fun, are they?" Jinx said, smirking, as she straightened. Robin shook his head. "And I don't hate Raven," she added, after a moment.

"You don't?" Robin asked, startled. "The way you two bicker in battle, I thought for sure…"

"Has it ever occurred to you that Raven and I _enjoy_ our verbal battles?" Jinx interrupted. "I certainly don't get much intelligent banter from hanging around with Gizmo and Mammoth."

Robin considered. "No," he admitted. "I never thought of that before."

"Obviously," Jinx said, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure Raven appreciates it as well. I have no idea how she stands dealing with people who have no gift for subtlety for so long without strangling someone."

"What do you mean?" Robin asked, intrigued.

"The rest of you Titans never pick up on anything," Jinx said bluntly. "Take you, for example. You don't have a clue about Raven."

"Yes I do!" Robin denied, insulted.

"Not much of a clue, then," Jinx said dismissively. "She's been sending you signals for months now, and you still haven't picked up on it."

"Signals?" Robin asked, confused. "What signals?"

"If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you," Jinx snapped. "Now, if you're done interrogating me, I'll be leaving."

Jinx stalked out of the room, slamming and locking the door behind her. Robin sighed frustratedly, running a hand through his hair.

_Now everyone I can see for the next week is mad at me,_ Robin thought moodily, kicking his dresser defiantly. _Great._

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Maybe I should start making cliffhangers a given. They certainly make the readers review. :P

Again, please review! Let me know what you think! Everything, even just aline letting me know that you read this, is greatly appreciated! Many thanks!


	4. Interrogation

A/N: Hey, look! It's actually here on time! cheers Aren't you proud of me:-P Many thanks to Vinnie for being a faithful beta reader, and Xaphrin, for making sure I got it done on time!

Kudos to all the faithful reviewers who guessed that I'd have them playing _20 questions_. Please, review! It's always greatly appreciated!

**Honesty**

**Chapter 4**

Robin was slightly surprised, however, when Raven came out of the bathroom in a little less than 10 minutes, and seemed to have no remaining animosity. She was clad in a new leotard, but without her cloak, her hair dripping slightly.

"You're done already?" he asked, astonished.

"Yes," Raven said, smiling slightly at his expression. "Why?"

"I thought all girls took forever in the shower," Robin answered. "It always seems like that whenever Starfire takes one. The water seems to run for an hour."

"I'm not Starfire," Raven said simply. "Also, I heard Jinx come in, and I'm hungry."

Robin laughed. "Help yourself," he said, gesturing to the multiple cartons on his dresser. Raven went over, inspecting their contents.

"The Chow Mein is great," he added, putting another forkful into his own mouth.

Raven settled down on the bed opposite him. She lifted her chopsticks, but paused, before setting her entire plate down.

"Something wrong?" Robin asked, seeing her disturbed expression.

"You could say that," Raven said, thinking.

_I hope she's not still mad at me,_ he thought. _I don't think I could stand her being mad at me for a day, let alone an entire week._

Raven straightened, and looked resigned.

"I owe you an apology," Raven said, biting her lip. "I'm sorry for getting upset with you earlier. I shouldn't have."

Robin was slightly stunned. _I've never heard her apologize to anyone before,_ his mind screamed at him. _Ever! What's going on?_

"I haven't meditated in a while," Raven continued, oblivious to Robin's astonishment, "so I reacted a bit strongly."

When she had finished her little speech, Raven picked up her plate, and began to eat. Robin just sat there, staring at her, shocked.

Raven looked up at him, and shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "What?" she asked, looking away. "Why are you staring at me?"

"I've never heard you apologize to anyone before," Robin heard himself say bluntly. Robin winced as the words tore themselves from his mouth. "It surprised me that you would apologize to me, of all people."

To his surprise, Raven blushed slightly. "I don't apologize often," she admitted. "I probably should, though. It's really hard for me unless I really mean it."

"Why'd you apologize to me, then?" Robin asked, taking a bite of fried rice.

"Because I meant it." Raven looked away, her face flushing.

"Oh," Robin said, blushing. As an afterthought, he added, "Thanks."

Raven turned back, giving him a tentative smile, her eyes hesitantly meeting his. Robin warmly smiled back at her. A thought occurred to Robin.

"You look beautiful when you smile," Robin said, smiling.

Raven flushed deeply. Robin merely smiled wider.

A lamp blew up, distracting both of them and making them lose eye contact. The spell broken, Raven turned to see shards of porcelain scattered on the nightstand. "Sorry," she said, wincing.

"That's okay," Robin said, watching as she levitated the mess into a nearby garbage can.

_I made Raven lose control of her emotions…_Robin thought, the statement echoing in his mind. Despite the fact that this was _not_ a good thing, Robin couldn't help but feel a rush of happiness at this.

Raven cleared her throat, flushing. "So, what'd you and Jinx talk about?" she asked, taking a bite of shrimp tempura, changing the subject.

"You and her, and my ignorance," Robin responded, flushing slightly from the forced response. Suddenly remembering the pink sorceress's earlier words, he asked, "Do you _like_ arguing with Jinx?"

Raven paused, considering. "Arguing, yes," she said. "Jinx, no."

"Why?" Robin asked, curious.

"I suppose because it's a chance for me to really cut loose and vent all my frustration in a cutting way," Raven admitted. "I like to insult her. I probably shouldn't, but I don't really care."

"Vent your frustration?" Robin echoed. "What gets you so frustrated?"

"Starfire's incessant questioning and naïveté, Beast Boy's ridiculous antics," Raven listed, ticking things off on her fingers. "Cyborg's obsession with all things technological, your ignorance, not being able to fully express my emotions, pent-up sexual tension, villains getting on my nerves…"

"Pent-up sexual tension?" Robin interrupted incredulously.

Raven flushed deeply, but determinedly met Robin's gaze.

"Yes," she said shortly. "I _am_ a teenager, you know."

"I _know_ that," Robin teased.

"You shouldn't ask a question you don't want to know the answer to," Raven said, cautioning. "I can't help answering."

"What if I _want_ to ask?" Robin asked, a crafty grin on his face.

"I can't stop you," Raven said, her words falling from her mouth without her meaning to speak, before she grinned evilly. "But remember, you're in the same boat I am. If you ask me personal questions, I might just be inclined to do the same thing."

This proposition didn't set quite so well with Robin. Raven smirked.

"Not quite so appealing now, is it?" Raven asked, smirking as he shifted uncomfortably.

"No," he muttered.

Sighing deeply, Robin shoved his empty dinner things to the floor, and collapsed against the bed. "We're trapped in here for a _week_," Robin scowled, kicking the bed. "There's nothing to do."

"You can talk to _me_," Raven shot back, slightly annoyed at his hopeless tone. "I'm not nothing."

"No, you're not," Robin said, backtracking, "but I can't talk _all_ the time."

"Fair point," Raven conceded.

"I wish I could train," Robin said frustratedly. "I need the physical activity. I'm going to get out of shape if I don't train."

"Chill," Raven said. "You don't have to worry about getting out of shape."

"Why not?" Robin shot at her, irritated.

"Because your body's amazing, and nothing you do or don't do will change that," Raven responded. Horrified, Raven clasped her hands over her mouth instantly. Robin sat bolt upright, stunned.

"You think my body's amazing?" he asked Raven, slight insecurity creeping into his voice.

Blushing furiously, Raven nodded. Her paper plate suddenly blew into the air and ripped itself to shreds, scattering pieces all over the bed. Neither Titan seemed to notice, though.

Robin smiled slightly. _She thinks my body's amazing. _The thought echoed through Robin's mind, unable to leave due to his male pride. A thought occurred to him. _Has she even seen her own body?_ he wondered. _Talk about amazing…_

Robin looked at Raven, allowing his eyes to drift up and down her lithe figure. Raven flushed. "What?" she asked, still a bit sulky from having just admitted her thoughts about Robin's body.

"Your body's amazing," Robin heard himself say automatically. Hurriedly, he tried to cover his mouth, but the words kept coming. "You're stunning. My body can't even begin to compare to the idealism of yours. You're beautiful."

Raven blushed brilliantly, and a shy sort of smile crept onto her face. "You think I'm beautiful?"

"Yes," Robin said. He tried to stop from saying anything more, but his thoughts tore themselves from his lips. "You're beyond beautiful. The stars and the moon can't even begin to compare to your perfection."

Raven smiled, trying to contain a laugh, her face tinged pink. "A closet romantic, are we?" she teased.

"Yes," Robin muttered. "So?"

"So, that's sweet," Raven said, still smiling. "There aren't many romantics left in the world."

Robin shot her a look. "Why do you care?" he asked, still embarrassed about his earlier words.

"I'm one too," she said simply, flushing slightly.

Robin turned to Raven, considering her words. _Raven's a romantic at heart?_ he wondered. _I can see that. She keeps so much emotion pent up inside, and with her vocabulary, it's bound to come out in flowery speech sometime or another._

Raven looked at Robin curiously as he sat still, pensive. "What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Just about what you said," Robin said, carefully phrasing his response. He smiled when no further words escaped. "Now," Robin said, grinning. "I get to ask you questions, seeing as I just revealed something very embarrassing about myself. That's fair, isn't it?"

"I suppose so," Raven admitted. "But I get to ask you questions as well, to make sure we're even."

"Fine," Robin conceded. Raven smirked.

"You must really want to ask me something," she teased, "to put your self-respect and dignity on the line."

"I trust you," Robin responded simply.

"Maybe you shouldn't," Raven pointed out, grinning evilly. Robin paused, her words scaring him slightly. She laughed. "Go ahead, you first," Raven prompted. "Maybe a game of twenty questions will help pass the time."

Robin thought hard. _What do I want to ask her the most that's not too invasive of her privacy?_ he wondered. _I don't want her to get mad at me._

Deciding to start simple, he asked, "What's your favorite color?"

"Black," Raven responded instantly. Robin rolled his eyes.

"Why?" he asked. "What's so special about black?"

"It's dark and mysterious," Raven said. "It's kind of like me, in a way." Robin nodded, seeing her point. "What about you?"

"I like red," Robin said. "It sticks out, and it's the first color the human eye can recognize." Raven smirked.

"I get to go again, because I just asked you yours back," Raven said. Robin nodded. Raven bit her lip, thinking. "What's your favorite thing about yourself?" she asked.

Robin considered. "That I made it," he said honestly. Raven raised an eyebrow, inviting him to continue. "When I was little, my parents died, and I was left all alone," he said, recalling the memory. "You would've thought it was hopeless for me, yet, here I am, alive and successful."

Raven nodded slowly. "Good reasons," she said.

"Thanks," Robin said, smiling. "What about you?"

Raven paused, thinking. "Probably that I'm myself," she said slowly. "I never pretend to be anything I'm not, and I always do what I believe in, whether it's the easy thing to do or not. It's not easy, but it gives me self-respect and dignity."

"Deep," Robin commented, making Raven smile slightly. "My turn. Hmm… what do you do when you lock yourself up in your room all the time?"

Raven smiled. "Read, mostly. I meditate, daydream, write, and just hang out. I don't spend _that_ much time in my room, though."

"Sure," Robin teased. Raven laughed.

"My turn," she said, thinking. "What's your favorite saying or quote?"

"You won't see the rainbow if you don't live through the rain," Robin responded. Raven paused.

"Why?" she asked.

"It reminds me that even when things seem to be at their darkest, there's always hope," Robin said. Casting a glance at Raven, he grinned and added, "I'm a closet romantic, remember?"

Raven laughed slightly and nodded. Robin grinned. "What about you?" he asked. "What's your favorite saying?"

"Actions speak louder than words," she replied instantly. Robin raised an eyebrow. Raven sighed.

"With my powers, it's often hard for me to directly express my emotions, through words or something," Raven explained. "So I'm left to convey my feelings through subtle means and signals, through my actions, instead of my words."

"Oh," Robin said, understanding, as he leaned over to turn on a lamp on the nightstand. The light sunlight was nearly gone. "I get it. You show how you feel, instead of just saying it, right?"

"Right," Raven confirmed, smiling at him, and Robin felt his heart flutter slightly. He hurriedly shoved the feeling down and cleared his throat.

"What was your most embarrassing moment?" he asked, smirking.

Raven flushed. "When I lost control of my fear and wreaked havoc upon the Tower," she said honestly. "What about you?"

"About five minutes ago," he answered truthfully.

"When you told me what you thought about my body?" Raven asked, blushing.

"Err- yeah," Robin admitted, blushing as well.

"My turn," Raven said, tactfully changing the subject. "What do you think is the worst feeling in the world?"

"Rejection," Robin said, coloring, "or maybe loneliness…"

"No, you said 'rejection', so that's your honest response," Raven interjected. "Why rejection?"

"It hurts to be rejected," Robin said, his tone growing softer. "It stings, and it really hurts your self-esteem. It's not something anyone likes to experience, but we all do."

"You've been rejected?" Raven inquired.

"Yeah, I got turned down for a job when I was younger," Robin admitted. "I really took it hard. I'm still scared of rejection."

"What do you mean?" Raven asked, biting her lip. Was it just Robin, or did her tone seem a little hopeful?

_Maybe this is one of those signals Jinx was talking about,_ he wondered. Aloud, he said, "I don't understand your question."

"What are you scared of being rejected of?" Raven rephrased. "Surely you're not trying to get a job now…"

"Well," Robin began, biting back words, careful not to let anything slip out before he could phrase it right. "I want to tell someone something, but I'm scared of being rejected by their reaction."

"What do you want to tell-"

"Stop," Robin interrupted. "Don't ask me that question. I don't want to answer."

"Sorry," Raven apologized hastily. "I didn't mean-"

"It's okay," Robin said, smiling. "I know you didn't mean to intrude. You didn't know."

Raven smiled gratefully at his understanding. Robin felt a slight twinge in his chest, but promptly ignored it.

"Your turn," Raven added, after a moment.

Robin paused. _I know what I want to ask her,_ he thought, _but I'm not sure I want to know the answer. _Glancing at Raven, who was looking at him curiously, he decided to go for it.

"Do you like anyone?" he asked bluntly. Raven looked slightly hurt.

"Of course," she said, insulted. "Just because I can't outright express my emotions doesn't mean I hate everyone. I certainly like you, the Titans-"

"Oh, that's not what I meant!" Robin said hurriedly. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I never meant to insult you!"

"Oh," Raven said. "What _did_ you mean, then?"

"Do- do you have a crush on anybody?" Robin asked, hating himself for stumbling over his words. Raven flushed.

"Yes," she said, blushing. "Don't ask who," she warned, as Robin opened his mouth to ask just that. "I don't want to tell you that yet."

_Drat,_ Robin thought frustratedly. "Will you ever tell me?" he asked, pouting, putting on a puppy-dog face.

"I might. That face looks horrendously silly on you with your mask on," Raven said automatically. She flushed as soon as she realized what she had said. "Sorry," she muttered. "I didn't mean to say that."

"I gathered," Robin said amusedly, watching Raven's reaction. "So, will you ever tell me?"

"I might," Raven said, sighing. "I probably will, one time or another. Just not now."

"Okay," Robin said. "I can accept that."

"Okay," Raven said, smiling slightly. "Thanks," she added as an afterthought.

"For what?" Robin asked, startled.

"For being understanding," Raven said, "and for helping to pass the time. Look." She gestured to the open curtains. "It's night time now, and you helped me pass the time in a fun way. Thanks."

Robin smiled. "My pleasure," he said cordially. On an impulse, he grabbed her hand and lightly pressed his lips to the back of it. "Anything to please the lady," he murmured, a half-smile on his face as he dropped her hand.

Raven blushed. Getting up and moving to the other bed, Raven yawned and stretched. "I'm tired," she said. "I haven't been awake long, but my body needs to fully heal itself."

"I can see that," Robin agreed, nodding. "I'm rather tired myself. I don't heal too quickly. Going to bed's a good idea."

"Good night then, Robin," Raven bid, smiling, as she slipped under the covers.

"Good night, Raven," Robin returned, leaning over to switch off the lamp, plunging them into darkness.

"Sweet dreams," Raven said. She shifted slightly, before lying still.

_Of course they'll be sweet, _Robin thought to himself, smiling over at the peaceful girl. _You'll be in them._

Raven exhaled softly, and Robin realized from her even breathing that she was already asleep.

"Sleep well, Raven," he bid her softly. "See you in my dreams."

With that Robin turned over to his side, where he drifted off and joined Raven in dreamworld, a soft smile on his face.

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So, what'd you think? smiles Please, review. Let me know whether you like such fluff or not. There's going to be a bit of a twist next...

Please, review:)


	5. Villainess Rising

**Additional note: The first time I tried to post this, it refused to work, and the only thing that could be seen was my wavy page break. Luckily, it's fixed now. Sorry about the error. **

A/N: Sorry I didn't post on Wednesday. I wasn't finished. I got _way_ off track, believe me, but I decided to use the bit I wrote later in the story. This chapter's a bit longer than the rest of them, to make up for it. Many thanks to Vinnie, the never-failing wonderful great beta, and Dave, who helped too.

In a new turn, whenever I get the desire to publicly respond to a review, I will do so. Today's reviewer is **Kaitsuya**, who said:

"Wow. I'm quite impressed. It's not all that easy to find good literary works out there, especially when they're fanfics.  
Obviously, I'm a RobbiexRae shipper, so this whole truth thing is pretty interesting (and well written).  
The Jinx situation is an added bonus. Pure genius. I can't wait to see what happens there."

Thank you so much, Kaitsuya! I'm glad you like the story. I strive to keep everyone in character, which can be quite a feat when progressing a romantic plotline. Many thanks to all the people who reviewed!

**Honesty**

**Chapter 5**

Raven awoke abruptly to the sound of a screeching alarm blaring throughout the room in the middle of the night.

She started automatically, moving to grab her cloak, before remembering her predicament.

_I can't go help,_ she realized. _I'm still contagious. The last thing I want to do is infect the entire city. _

Raven settled back in bed, reclining against her pillows as the noise blared on. She could faintly hear the pitter patter of raindrops against the window and the sound of great clashes of thunder outside, behind the wailing of the alarm. Beside her, Robin awoke, and instantly realized what was going on.

Robin immediately leapt out of bed, landing expertly into his shoes with a practiced air.

_I never saw him take anything off,_ Raven noted, as he strapped on his utility belt._ I must have been more tired than I thought. _

"What are you doing?" she asked dully. Robin started, having apparently forgotten she was there, before whipping around to glare at her.

"I'm getting ready to go stop whatever plans a villain has in progress," Robin informed her, pulling his cape around his neck.

Raven sighed. _He hasn't remembered that we can't leave this room, _she thought. "No, you're not," she said flatly. Robin looked at her, confused.

"Yes, I am," Robin insisted. "You should be too. As Teen Titans, it's our job to stop crime and protect the public safety."

"If you want to keep the city safe, the best thing for you to do is stay here," Raven explained regretfully. "We're still cursed. It would be catastrophic if the entire city caught this burden from us."

Raven watched as realization slowly dawned on Robin's face. The alarm suddenly ceased. One of the others must have turned it off.

"I- I can't go fight crime?" Robin asked numbly, not seeming able to comprehend this. "I can't go join the fray? I can't lead my team?"

Raven slowly nodded, as Robin's face took on a desperate quality. Her heart went out to him as she saw his panicked look. _Crime fighting is the most important thing in the world to him, and it's all he knows,_ she thought. _The fact that he can't go when he needs to must be playing havoc with his mind_. Robin frantically ran a hand through his hair, standing it on end, making him look wild.

"No!" Robin said forcefully, denying it. "I _have_ to go! I _have _to be able to fight! I _have _to! I've _never_ missed a fight! I _have _to go!"

"You can't," Raven said softly. "You can't."

Robin looked like he was about to yell, before sighing listlessly and slumping to the floor. "I can see why you hate Jinx," he said dully. "This is cruel and unusual punishment."

Raven felt her heart lurch slightly at his hopeless look. Silently gliding over, Raven sat down beside him. She didn't say a word, just sitting there, offering him the comfort of her presence.

"You know, before I joined the Titans, I was really nervous," Robin said, hugging his knees, not looking at her. "I'd never led anyone before, let alone a team of superheroes. I was always the follower."

Raven nodded, understanding, and inviting him to go on.

"So when I got here, I was determined to prove myself," Robin went on, looking out the window as the rain slid down the glass on the outside. "I figured the best way to do that was to make sure no one ever escaped, and that I never lost. I lived it, breathed it, and we never did lose. If we did, we always beat our opponent afterwards."

"Like with the HIVE," Raven said, remembering.

"Exactly," Robin confirmed. "That's why I'm so obsessive over Slade. I couldn't beat him. He's a mystery, an enigma, a puzzle I had to solve, but couldn't. Now that he's back, it's even worse. Not only do I have to figure _him_ out, I also have to figure out how he's returned."

Raven looked away, not wanting to think about that. Robin continued on, oblivious.

"It's like that with every villain. I have to win. I have to stop the evil. If I can't, I automatically assume the worst, at it slowly drives me insane. That's why I sort of flipped out when you told me I couldn't go." Robin finished his little speech, and they lapsed into silence, quietly watching the rain fall.

"Robin," Raven said, breaking the silence, "while there are many evil things in this world, it's not your job to stop all of them. The Titans will be okay without us there this once. They can handle it."

She turned to look at him, her luminous violet eyes meeting the white cloth of his mask.

"Trust them," Raven said softly. "They got the best training possible from their leader, and there's nothing they can't handle."

Robin smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks," he said.

"My pleasure," Raven returned. She glanced over at the digital clock on Robin's nightstand. "It's three in the morning. Think you can manage to go back to bed and find out what happened in the morning?" she asked.

Robin grinned. "Yeah, I think so," he teased.

"You had better be," Raven playfully warned. "I'm not going to sing you a lullaby."

"Bummer," Robin smirked, amused. He yawned, stretching widely. "It _is_ early," he admitted, "and since I can't do any good now, I might as well go to sleep."

"I'm so glad you approve of my idea," Raven returned, laughing. "Good night, Robin." Raven floated over to her bed, collapsing at once.

"Good night, Raven." Robin's words barely registered in Raven's mind, however, as she was sound asleep in seconds.

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When Raven awoke for the second time, the room was lit with sunlight, and the rain had stopped. Yawning slightly, Raven rolled over to look at the clock.

9:00

Not bad, considering what she had been through the previous day. It wasn't like she was going to miss anything by sleeping in.

Raven sat up, stretching. Looking around, she noticed Robin wasn't in sight. Judging from the sound of running water coming from the adjacent bathroom, he was in the shower. Raven reached over and grabbed her cloak, fastening it around her neck.

Raven heard the water stop, only to have Robin casually stroll out later, a towel loosely wrapped around his waist, dripping water all over the place. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Raven awake, sitting up and watching him, her mouth agape.

"Raven!" he sputtered incoherently. "I thought you were asleep!"

"That much is obvious," Raven managed, still gawking at his bare body.

Robin's face reddened, as Raven let her gaze lazily travel all over him, drinking in the sight. He hurriedly grabbed a new uniform, ducking back into the bathroom.

"You shower in your mask?" Raven called after him, smirking.

"Can't be too careful," came his muffled response. Raven rolled her eyes. Robin came out of the bathroom a moment later, adjusting his gloves.

"You're a lot more confident in your clothes," Raven commented.

Robin's face colored, but he managed to respond. "You seemed sorry to see me put them on," he shot back.

"I was," Raven responded instantly. Robin jerked, and Raven reddened.

"You were sorry to see me put my clothes back on?" Robin asked, disbelieving. Raven nodded. "Why?"

"Ilikelookingatyourbody," Raven muttered, her face stained crimson.

"What?" Robin said, leaning closer. "I couldn't hear you."

"I said 'I like looking at your body'," Raven said loudly, as a faint _boom _echoed through the tower. Raven winced. A moment later, her communicator chimed.

Robin sat down beside her on the bed as she withdrew her communicator. Glancing at him, he nodded, and Raven flipped it open.

"Hey Raven! Hey Robin!" Cyborg's cheery face greeted her. "Glad to see you're finally up! We weren't sure until the lamp blew up…" Robin snickered, while Raven looked away, slightly embarrassed. Cyborg continued on.

"Anyway, it's a good thing you're up now!" he said. "We have work for you to do!"

"What can we _possibly_ do when we're isolated here in this hellhole?" Raven asked dryly. Robin shot her a look.

"Interrogate the 'criminal' we picked up last night during a raid of the jewelry store," Cyborg said, barely concealing a grin. Robin leapt at this.

"I almost forgot! What happened last night?" Robin asked. "I was going nuts, wondering what was going on! Was it Slade?"

"Nah," Cyborg said, a mysterious smile on his face. "Just a low-grade criminal. We figured we could take advantage of your predicament, however, and toss her in with you. That way, you two can interrogate her, and she'll have to tell the truth about any bigger plans she might have."

Robin opened his mouth to say something, but Raven quickly interrupted.

_"Her?"_ she asked incredulously.

"Yes," Cyborg said, not bothering to conceal his evil grin now. "Her."

"We haven't fought many female criminals," Robin mused, his head on his fist as he thought. "Not counting Blackfire and Terra, I don't think there's been any. Have we met her before?"

"I daresay you have," Cyborg said, smirking. A loud crash was heard in the background, followed by a loud 'She's escaped!' from Beast Boy.

"Shit!" Cyborg swore, looking off-screen. "I'll be right back!" He hastily dropped his communicator, leaving Raven and Robin with a crooked picture of the carpet as another loud crash was heard. The two exchanged dubious glanced, before turning back to the tiny screen to try to find out what was going on.

"Be frozen!" They heard Starfire yell, as another loud clatter was heard.

"It's 'freeze', Star!" Beast Boy yelled back, as a smashing sound resonated through the speaker. "Get her!"

"You're not calling the shots now, are you, Titans?" a familiar voice sneered from off-screen. "I am!"

Robin and Raven exchanged wary glances.

"Oh no," Robin breathed.

"That's…" Raven began.

_"Kitten,"_ they chorused, identical grimaces on their faces.

Another loud crash was heard, followed by a soft thump and a triumphant cry of 'Gotcha!' from Beast Boy. A moment later, Cyborg picked up his communicator, out of breath.

"It's okay," Cyborg panted. "BB tackled her. Everything's under control."

"Is that _Kitten?_" Raven asked incredulously. "What's _she_ doing here?"

"I told you, we picked up the criminal last night, who happens to be Kitten, and brought her home so you two could interrogate her," Cyborg explained, exasperated.

"_Kitten_ tried to commit an actual crime?" Robin interjected, disbelieving. "What?"

"Robbery of a jewelry store," Cyborg smirked. "She went in riding one of her dad's giant moths and demanded everything in the store. It took her a minute to realize that there was no one there; as it was like one in the morning. She hadn't thought of this, so she didn't have a way to break into their vault planned out."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," Raven smirked. Robin ignored her.

"Then what happened?" he asked Cyborg.

"BB turned into a T-Rex and she fainted," Cyborg snickered. "Star went back to the tower to grab some alien berry things. She fed them to the moth, who molted and turned back into a larvae."

"Don't tell me: Starfire kept it?" Raven guessed.

"Yep," Cyborg grinned. "She's named this one 'Vinnie'. The two maggots seem to like each other, instead of fighting, so that's good."

"I don't care about the bugs!" Robin snapped irritably. "What about Kitten?"

_He takes this leader thing way too seriously,_ Raven thought, rolling her eyes.

"Seeing as the only thing she did was breaking and entering, we dragged her home with us so you two could interrogate her. You never know what's going on when Killer Moth's concerned," Cyborg said.

Beast Boy's head jutted into view on the communicator's screen as he shoved Cyborg aside. "Dude!" he exclaimed. "This is totally like your one chance for revenge!"

"No, you think?" Raven said sarcastically. "I mean, Kitten _only_ has to answer any embarrassing question posed to her." Robin ignored her curt comment.

"I _knew_ that, Beast Boy," Robin said, slightly annoyed.

"I know that, but you can like totally payback Kitten for that prom hell she put you through," Beast Boy said excitedly. "Remember? You were all like _man…_ and Starfire was all like **_WHAT? _**'cause she was all jealous 'cause she had a crush on you and all…"

"I _know_," Robin said, visibly growing more aggravated. Beast Boy prattled on, however.

"…but like, Star doesn't like you like that anymore, 'cause like, she only likes you as like, a friend, and like…"

"Beast Boy, **SHUT UP!"** Robin yelled, livid. Raven looked over at the irate boy, who was obviously steaming. Beast Boy paled.

"…sorry…" he muttered, scared, discreetly slipping out of view.

Rubbing his temples, Robin took a deep breath, trying to regain his temper. Raven watched, intrigued.

_Why's he so mad?_ Raven wondered, consciously making sure not to voice her thoughts. _Robin doesn't normally let Beast Boy's antics get to him so much._

"Cyborg," Robin said, pinching the bridge of his nose tightly. Cyborg's face slid back into view.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Have Jinx bring Kitten up to our room," Robin commanded. "Raven and I will interrogate her to see if her crime has any correlation to more malevolent plans of her father."

"Gotcha," Cyborg said. "Be careful, though. She's picked up a few dangerous fighting moves. She's been escaping all morning." Turning, he called, "Jinx! Robin wants you…"

The voice was abruptly shut off as Robin snapped the communicator shut. She turned to look at him, curious. He wordlessly handed it back to her, before flopping back onto the bed, a hand over his eyes. Raven watched silently.

"So…" Raven said, breaking the heavy silence. "What went on back there?"

"I flipped out at Beast Boy," Robin said shortly.

"Obviously…" Raven muttered. Louder, she asked, "Care to tell me why?"

"No," Robin said curtly. Turning back to look at Raven and lowering his hand, he sighed. "Sorry," he apologized. "This has just worn down my nerves."

"I've noticed," Raven said flatly. Robin winced.

"I'm sorry," Robin said regretfully. "First a call in the middle of the night that I can't go to, then Beast Boy, now Kitten… It's just so much so quickly. I don't know if I can handle it all."

Raven moved to lie down next to him on her side. Robin momentarily stiffened, before relaxing again. Raven turned to look at him, her head propped up on her hand.

"You know, I feel like that sometimes, too," Raven said, emphasizing with Robin's emotions. "I feel so overwhelmed that I just want to scream. I feel like I don't want to deal with my emotions anymore, and that I don't think I can take it anymore."

Raven offered Robin a soft smile.

"But somehow, I always make it through," Raven said, her tone gentle. "I always find some inner strength to draw on, something that's worth sticking it out for. And I always make it through."

Robin was looking at her intently, like he couldn't look away. It was making Raven nervous, edgy, though she didn't know why.

"I'm sure you'll be able to handle this," Raven finished softly. "You're much stronger than I am, and you'll come out on top."

Robin just looked at her, his masked eyes seeming to bore into her own. Raven met his gaze, holding it, wondering what he was thinking as he searched her violet orbs for something.

_It's not fair that he can see what I'm feeling through my eyes, but I can't tell what he's feeling,_ Raven mentally cursed. _Infernal mask. That's probably one of the reasons why he wears it._

Raven mentally cursed.

Raven just watched him as Robin regarded her silently. She lay still, unmoving, as he watched her vacantly, like a statue.

A loud banging down the hall brought them both back to the present. Robin shifted, as Raven winced slightly.

"That'll be Jinx and Kitten," Robin said. There was something lingering in his tone, however. Raven could hear it.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Raven asked, prodding gently. Robin sighed.

"Yes," he said, his voice deep, as he looked up at her through his mask. Raven's breath hitched slightly in her throat before she caught herself, and forced herself to breathe normally.

"I'm sorry you have to be dragged into this whole Kitten mess," Robin said honestly. "Kitten despises me, and will most likely try to take some of her hatred towards me out on the both of us."

"I can handle Kitten," Raven responded, slightly insulted. "It's not like she's some very evil being."

"I know that," Robin said earnestly. "I just wish you didn't have to deal with her. She's an obnoxious brat, and I don't like seeing you irritated or annoyed."

Raven smiled softly. _He cares about me, _Raven thought, smiling, while quickly stilling her stomach, which had decided to flip. _He genuinely cares. _

"It's okay," Raven said, smiling. "I won't let her get to me."

"Good," Robin said, smiling back. "I'm glad."

"Is that all you want to tell me?" Raven asked, shifting as a loud **thump** was heard across the hall.

"No," Robin said honestly, "but the rest is best saved for another time."

Raven opened her mouth to inquire as to what, when the door was suddenly flung open.

"Presenting her most horrid self, the most repugnant of all creatures ever to grace the earth," Jinx introduced dramatically, as she held Kitten tightly in her arms, a gag and ropes binding the blonde, "the one, the only, thank _heaven_, Kitten!"

_Jinx is such a drama queen,_ Raven thought, rolling her eyes as Jinx unceremoniously shoved Kitten to the floor and firmly shut the door behind her. Her inner monologue was abruptly cut off, however, as Kitten shimmied out of her restraints. Boosting herself up with her hands, Kitten looked up at the two Titans with a look of pure loathing.

"**_So,_**" she breathed, her tone low and deadly, her eyes glinting with steel. "We meet again, Titans. I've been waiting to see you again."

Raven and Robin exchanged wary glances. This would _not_ be good.

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Ooo, Kitten's in the scene now. ((grins evilly)) What do you think will happen next? What did you think of this chapter? What do you hope or want to see happen? Let me know! Please, review!


	6. Interrogation II

A/N: I am posting this at 6:45 in the bloody morning, thanks to my father, dragging me off to an all-day volleyball tournament, even though I was at one yesterday and am as sore as hell. Thanks to Vinnie, who betaed, and Zach, who cheered me up. I didn't do a review-recognition thing because I'm posting this from a different computer, and I don't have access to all my review files I've saved. Many thanks to all those who reviewed!

New episodes are starting again soon! I can't wait! So, this chapter is to build everyone's anticipation of the premiere of TROQ tomorrow night!

Honesty

Chapter 6

Robin was at a loss.

He had agreed to the interrogation plan, thinking that Kitten was the same ditzy girl he had reluctantly taken to prom a year or so ago. It would have been an easy enough task to ask her a few choice questions, find out if she was working for anyone else, and fully annoy her in the process as a means of revenge.

He had not expected this.

Robin restrained himself from flinching as Kitten slowly rose to her feet, hatred smoldering in her eyes. At complete opposition to the simple, carefree girl she once was, Kitten was fiery, vindictive, and evil. The air about her had changed, speaking of loathing, resentment, and power, instead of the shallowness that was once there.

"Sit," came a cold command from his left. Robin turned to see Raven, her eyes narrowed at Kitten. Her eyes were icy and cold, and Robin felt the temperature plummet several degrees.

"No. Why should I?" Kitten spat. The hatred between the two girls was painfully obvious, though Robin wasn't quite sure as to why.

Kitten and Raven have never really done anything to each other, Robin recalled. Their hatred runs deeper than that between a hero and a criminal. Why do they hate each other so passionately?

Whatever the reason, their mutual loathing filled the room, settling about heavily. Kitten glared at the dark mystic, her eyes fiery and alight with malice. Her temper was obviously short, and Robin could tell she wanted to start a fight.

Raven, however, seemed the complete opposite. Her eyes were void of any emotion, save a chill, icy hated. Her entire demeanor spoke of cold, bleak hate, as if the repugnant creature in front of her was the most worthless being on the planet.

The intense opposing emotion between the two girls continued to baffle Robin as he watched their exchange.

"You are a criminal," Raven said coldly. "Not only is it procedure, but you are to obey what we command, and standing when we are seated is a sign of disrespect."

Kitten ignored Raven, boredly examining her fingernails.

"Sit," Raven repeated curtly, her voice algid.

"What if I don't want to?" Kitten sneered, her tone haughty.

"Then too bad for you," Raven said nastily. "I am offering you one more chance to sit down before I make you sit down. For the last time, sit."

"No," Kitten said defiantly, scowling.

Raven's eyes narrowed. A moment later, Kitten stiffly sat down, as if her body was being controlled by an outside force. Kitten was obviously startled at this, and tried to stop from sitting, but her body sank down to the floor nonetheless. She looked up at Raven, surprise flickering in her eyes.

A little disconcerted at this sudden display of power from Raven, a power he didn't know she had until just now, Robin cleared his throat. Kitten's eyes snapped from Raven to him, subjecting him to her blazing gaze, making him flinch slightly. Gathering his wits and falling into his role of leader, Robin spoke.

"Kitten," he began, "you have been brought here to be formally questioned about your crime. This is to ensure all the details are correct, and to discover any possible correlation you may have to larger crimes."

"Yeah, yeah," Kitten dismissed airily, impatient. "I've been interrogated before. Get on with it."

"What you may not be aware of," Robin continued, ignoring the interruption, "is you will have no choice but to tell the truth in this case."

"What?" Kitten interrupted. "What do you mean? There's no way you can make me tell the truth." She cast an odd glance at Raven, who was sitting silently to the side, watching the proceeding with cold dispassionate eyes.

"We may not be able to make you tell the truth," Robin explained, "but you will tell the truth nonetheless."

"Huh?" Kitten said, raising an eyebrow.

"There is a contagious curse in effect that causes pure honesty," Robin elaborated. "You will tell the truth whether you want to or not."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Kitten whined. "I don't understand! What-"

"Kitten," Raven interjected, interrupting, entering the conversation for the first time. "What was your most embarrassing moment?"

"After the prom," Kitten responded automatically. "I was in jail, still wearing my dress, covered in chocolate cake, while all the big nasty hairy criminals leered at me and made rude comments about my appearance and I just wanted to break down and cry-" Kitten clapped her hands over her mouth, horrified, effectively cutting off the humiliating words falling from her mouth.

Robin smirked widely as Kitten's face colored into a deep crimson, her hands still over her mouth. She definitely deserved that, Robin grinned to himself. Definitely.

Robin was slightly surprised to see that Raven wasn't smirking as well. Her face betrayed no emotion save hatred, and her eyes were as cold as ever.

"Do you understand now?" Raven asked shortly. Kitten nodded silently, as realization dawned in her blue eyes.

"Thanks, Rae," Robin said gratefully. Raven nodded in acknowledgment, her cool gaze never leaving Kitten. Robin shifted uncomfortably, glad that Raven wasn't looking at him like that.

Rising and walking over to his chest of drawers, Robin withdrew a tape recorder. He set it down on the dresser, pressing RECORD before returning to sit down on the bed. Looking towards Kitten, who had finally stopped clutching her mouth, Robin began the interrogation.

"What is your full name?" Robin asked, starting with the default first question of interrogations. He had been trained in police procedure, and although it was not necessary here, the habit was a hard one to break.

"Catherine Elizabeth Wainscots," Kitten responded, wincing as the words came out. "I hate my name," she whined. She paused, before demanding, "What's your name?"

"Robin," Robin said automatically. Raven shot him a questioning look, to which Robin just shrugged.

"I got my name legally changed last year," he explained. "Safety measure, you know."

Raven nodded, before turning back to Kitten, who gulped audibly at Raven's icy glare.

"Do NOT ask Robin questions ever again," Raven hissed, her tone low and deadly. Kitten flinched and recoiled, as if hurt by the venom in her voice.

Robin shivered slightly. Chill power seemed to emanate from Raven's every pore, making her hair and cloak billow ever so slightly. Kitten seemed completely afraid and terrified of Raven. But, yet… was that respect Robin saw in her eyes?

Dismissing it as a trick of the light, Robin went on.

"What were your plans last night?" Robin asked, getting back on track.

"To rob the jewelry store," Kitten said flatly.

"I would think that would be obvious…" Raven remarked sarcastically. Robin shot her a glare.

"What were you trying to steal and why?" Robin asked, ignoring Raven's comment.

"Everything," Kitten said dreamily, a greedy gleam in her eyes. "Ever since my stupid ex-boyfriend Fang broke up with me, I have to get my own pretty things."

"This wasn't your father's idea?" Robin asked, slightly disappointed at this dull turn of events. He had been hoping this would be more than a petty theft. "He didn't even condone it?"

"He didn't even know of it," Kitten sniffed, reassuring him in a whiny voice. "He's too busy breeding those nasty bugs day and night. I can do whatever I want."

"Really?" Robin asked, dejected.

"Duh," Kitten said, rolling her eyes. "I can only tell the truth anyway. Don't you remember?"

"Yes," Robin said dismally. "I just thought…"

"I don't care what you think," Kitten sneered. "Is that all?"

"I suppose so…" Robin sighed. He was ready to conclude the interrogation, when he noticed Raven.

Raven was sitting on the edge of the bed, her arms wrapped around her legs, tightly hugging them to her chest. She was rocking back and forth slightly, her violet gaze vacant.

"Raven?" Robin said, concerned. "Raven?"

Raven started, startled, and turned to him. "Yeah?"

"You just seemed lost in thought for a moment or two," he said. "That's all."

"I was," Raven admitted. "I was just thinking…"

"Oh my god," Kitten interrupted, feigning shocked astonishment. "Raven can think?"

"Yes, she can," Raven shot back, annoyed. "You should learn how. It could come in handy."

Kitten reddened. "At least I have common fashion sense," she retorted. "Spandex went out of style decades ago."

"At least I wear things that look good on me," Raven shot back. "Your miniskirt and halter may be in style, but I'd slit my wrists rather than look so grotesque with so much exposed ugly flesh."

"At least I have the courage to tell a guy when I like him!" Kitten retaliated. "Whereas you're too chicken to let him know!"

Raven turned a brilliant red, though from embarrassment or fury, Robin couldn't tell. Robin's punching bag promptly exploded, sending beans and rice everywhere.

Raven flinched, and shut her eyes tightly, taking in several deep breaths. Robin watched as the mystic tried to quickly calm herself, while Kitten smirked at her victoriously.

After a few moments or so, Raven opened her eyes, and looked to Robin. "Do you mind if I ask her a few more questions before you end the interview?" she asked, pinching the bridge of her nose tightly.

"Not at all," Robin said, smiling, glad she had calmed down. Enough stuff had been broken in the last 24 hours, and Robin kind of wanted something left in his room when this was all over.

"Just out of curiosity, why?" he added as an afterthought.

"I just want to find some things out," Raven explained delicately. She cracked an evil grin and nodded in the direction of Kitten, who was too busy finger combing through her hair to notice. Robin returned the grin, and sat back to watch. He was slightly surprised to see, however, Raven continue the actual interview.

"Kitten," Raven said, turning to the girl. Kitten looked back to her and glared, and Robin noticed the icy sheen had returned to her eyes.

"Yeah," Kitten snarled.

"Why is your father breeding more moths?" Raven demanded coldly.

Kitten stiffened and bit her lip, and Robin leaned forward, curious to hear the answer. It was a good question; one he hadn't thought of. Raven sat still, emotionless save a bleak loathing, waiting for Kitten to answer. She didn't answer, however. Kitten appeared to be biting her tongue to keep the forced words from spilling out.

Finally, the words broke free.

"He's breeding the moths for his new employer," she blurted. "He wants them for something."

"Employer?" Robin asked incredulously.

"Duh," Kitten said. "Being a criminal bent on taking over the city doesn't really pay the bills."

"Killer Moth is working for someone?" Robin asked, still not able to believe it.

"Yes," Kitten said, annoyed. Turning to Raven, she demanded, "Is he slow or something?"

Raven scowled. "No," she said curtly. "Who is your dad working for?"

"Slade," Kitten said, rolling her eyes.

"Are you working for Slade as well?" Robin asked.

"As if," Kitten scoffed. "Slade's totally lame. He still won't drop the whole 'apprentice' thing. Besides, even he's working for someone now.

"Who?" Robin asked urgently. "Who?"

"Skat," Kitten said promptly. "I'm working for him, too" Robin looked slightly puzzled as Kitten turned to sneer at Raven. "I daresay you know who that is."

Raven just scowled, while Robin mentally stored the name away for later use. Kitten caught sight of Robin's confused expression, and an evil grin of realization dawned on her face.

"You never told him anything? Kitten said delightedly. Raven shook her head, causing Kitten to smile wider. "You never told your team about Skat?"

"No," Raven said shortly.

"Did you tell them about the key and what it is?" Kitten asked, clearly enjoying herself.

"No," Raven said, her tone curt.

"Did you even tell them about the prophecy?" Kitten demanded.

"No," Raven said tersely, clearly agitated. "I'll tell my team when the time is right. Now, shut up, you nosy idiot."

"No need to be rude," Kitten sniffed. "I'll change the subject if you're so sensitive."

"How very kind of you," Raven said sarcastically.

"So, are you waiting for the right time to tell Robin about your little issue as well?" Kitten asked slyly. Robin's ears jerked up at this.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Raven said curtly, though her face flushed slightly nonetheless.

Wait a second, Robin thought, realizing something. It's obvious that Raven knows exactly what Kitten is talking about, Robin thought, looking at Raven's reddened face. So how could Raven tell a lie and say she didn't know?

Neither Raven nor Kitten seemed to notice the lapse in the curse, though.

"Oh, I think you do," Kitten said. She leaned forward and said in a loud, fake whisper, "It has to do with why Jinx cursed you."

"How do you know about that?" Raven demanded angrily.

"Every criminal in the whole city has heard about it," Kitten said smugly. "We've all heard how the mighty sorceress Jinx made the infamous mystic Raven lose her cool by throwing something in her face. It's all over the tabloids, too."

Raven's eyes flashed a blood red. Taking a deep, calming breath, Raven closed her eyes, obviously trying to regain her composure. Kitten, impatient, turned to Robin.

"Do you know what Jinx and Raven were arguing over that day?" she asked. Robin shook his head. "You."

"That's enough, Kitten," Raven said shortly, as she pinched the bridge of her nose tightly, her eyes still shut.

"Jinx had shot a curse at you early in the fight," Kitten went on, ignoring Raven. "It got Raven pretty upset."

"What was the curse?" Robin asked, interested despite himself.

"Leprosy," Kitten told him, "which can kill you. Raven can tell what curses are, so she yelled at Jinx and then told the police to charge her Jinx with attempted murder."

"I remember that…" Robin said, recalling the scene with the police, where he had told Raven he trusted her judgement and she had smiled at him.

"That's enough, Kitten," Raven said sharply. Kitten continued on, however.

"When Raven went back and told Jinx this, however, Jinx flipped out. She accused Raven of overreacting because she-"

"That's ENOUGH!" Raven cried shrilly, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Shut up!"

"And if I don't?" Kitten drawled, sneering.

"Then you knowingly accept the consequences," Raven spat viciously, hatred flashing in her eyes.

"You sound like my dad," Kitten sniffed. Tossing her head defiantly and turning away, she continued, saying, "Anyway, after Jinx accused Raven, Raven denied it, but Jinx knew she was lying, so she asked her if she liked y-"

"I am warning you for the last time, Kitten!" Raven snarled. "SHUT UP!"

"Make me, bitch," Kitten scoffed, airily flipping Raven off.

Even Robin knew better than to dare Raven like that.

"With pleasure," Raven hissed, her eyes and chakra glowing black, her hands pulsing with her dark power.

There was a bright flash of searing light, which pierced Robin's eyes, even through his mask. He blinked rapidly, his vision blotched, as he heard Kitten screaming, shrieking as if being slaughtered with a rusty knife.

When his vision returned, Kitten was thrashing about on the ground, writhing. At first, Robin couldn't see anything different about Kitten, except for the fact that she was screeching in obvious agony, until he realized clouds of Raven's dark power were billowing out of her nose and ears, as if boiling from her insides. Robin's stomach lurched, and he mentally thanked whatever deity had prevented him from eating breakfast that morning.

All of the sudden, Kitten's inhuman shrieking stopped, leaving her lying prostrate on the ground, shaking violently, and whimpering. Jinx suddenly burst through the door, panting slightly, her eyes drawn to the sight of Kitten's form.

"We are done with our interview," Raven said curtly, ignoring Kitten's pitiful moans. "You may take her away."

Wordlessly, Jinx entered the room, and hoisted Kitten up, only to have her fall right back down to the ground again. Sighing, Jinx bent over and slipped her arms through Kitten's, before proceeding to drag Kitten towards the hall by the armpits. Kitten's eyes were glassy and unfocused, and she kept mumbling incoherent words.

As Jinx pulled her into the hall, Kitten murmured, "It was…no…so dark…make it stop…make it stop…" and Robin was struck with an odd sense of déjà vu right as the door was shut, leaving him alone with Raven in silence.

Turning to Raven, he noticed that while her eyes and gem had returned to normal, she was still seething. He watched as she just sat there, fuming, not even bothering to try to calm down.

"So…" Robin remarked. "What was it that Jinx was trying to tell me that made you so mad?"

"Nothing," Raven said curtly. "I'm going to meditate in the corner. Do not bother me."

It was not until later that night, as Robin lay awake in his bed, that he realized that was the second lie Raven had told that day.

¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ ø,¸¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ ø,¸¸,ø ¤º°°º¤¸,ø¤

You may think Robin or Raven, mainly Raven, is a bit OOC. But if you knew what Raven knew about who Kitten's working for, you'd act a bit differently too...

Please, review! I'm going to need something to cheer me up when I get home after this blasted day. Again, please review!


	7. Clouds

A/N: Look! It's _finally _here! Many thanks to all of you for being so patient, or at least pretending to be. This is my last week of finals and volleyball, so it's been stressed. After the 11th person told me to 'quit being lazy, get my ass in gear, and write' I decided 'to hell with finals' and I finished up chapter 7. Props to TomatoYaYa who bothered me nearly every day without fail to finish.

Any errors are my fault, as this chapter is unbetaed. Also, this is approxiamately double my usual chapterlength to make up for the wait.

**Honesty**

**Chapter 7**

For the second night in a row, Robin found himself abruptly awakened from his slumber by a high-pitched noise, though, at least _this_ time, it was morning. However, it was _not_ the Titans' alarm system that woke him up. It was Raven – screaming in her sleep.

Reflexively leaping out of bed and landing on Raven, his knees straddling her hips, Robin grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently, yelling loudly, "Raven! Raven! Wake up!"

Jerking awake, Raven's eyes opened, wide and terrified. There was a loud _boom_ as Robin and every other object within a five-foot radius of Raven was thrown against the wall by her black power at her return to consciousness.

"I'm sorry!" Raven said frantically, sitting up. "I had a nightmare! My powers don't act up during my sleep, but when I awake…"

Robin laughed slightly, as he got up, dusting his uniform off. "Chill, Rae," he said, grinning. "It's okay."

Raven looked downward, blushing slightly, as Robin walked over and sat down beside her on the bed.

"Must have been one heck of a nightmare," Robin said conversationally. "I think everyone in the city heard you."

"Sorry," Raven muttered, her face flaming.

"What was it about?" Robin asked, curious. Raven's eyes widened in renewed terror, and words poured from her mouth.

"It was _terrible!_" Raven said emphatically. "There was a big fat lady who came into the tower and hypnotized us all to act like little kids and she put me in a yellow dress and pigtails and the HIVE recruited two new guys and there were mutant gingerbread zombie men and Starfire had nine stomachs and…" The new lamp Jinx had brought in yesterday evening promptly blew up with a loud bang as Raven ranted.

"Whoa!" Robin said, cutting off Raven's stream of words. Raven stopped, but quivered slightly. Robin bit back an amused smirk. It was funny to see Raven so worked up over a mere dream.

"It was _horrible,_" Raven said, upset.

"I'm sure it was," Robin said gently. Without thinking, Robin impulsively pulled Raven over to his side, enveloping her in his arms in a caring hug. Raven stiffened instinctively, before relaxing, and burrowing her head into Robin's shoulder slightly.

"I was wearing _pigtails,_" Raven said, horrified, clearly still distressed over the dream.

"It'll be okay," Robin soothed, stroking her back tenderly. "It's just a dream."

"But it seemed so real…" Raven protested. "Like a vision or something…"

"They always do," Robin said softly.

Raven stayed motionless for a while, just staying in Robin's arms. She shifted slightly, sighing, and Robin became extremely aware of her body wrapped in his arms. Every nerve ending seemed to be focussed in the areas where Raven was leaning against him, and all blood fled from his head to his arms as well.

Robin just sat still, the fact that Raven was in his arms dimly echoing around his mind. After some time, though Robin's hadn't the slightest idea of whether it was a minute or an hour, Raven shifted again, and moved out of Robin's arms.

"Thanks," she said quietly, a soft smile on her lips.

"My pleasure," he said, smiling back.

Raven flushed, and looked away.

"Sorry about that," she said awkwardly. "It was just such a weird, eerie dream…"

"Speaking of weird," Robin said, recalling the events of the previous evening. "What happened to you last night?"

"I kind of flipped out…" Raven said, her face coloring. "It's not like Kitten didn't deserve it, though…"

"No," Robin interrupted. "Twice, last night, you were able to tell a lie. But now, the curse is still affecting you. What's up with that?"

Raven frowned. "No idea," she said.

"I want to find out," Robin declared. "It's way too strange to let slip by."

"Maybe you could call Cyborg and talk to him," Raven suggested. "That way, while you talk to him, he can let Jinx know we're up so we can get some breakfast?"

"That's a great idea," Robin said, grinning, withdrawing his communicator from his belt. Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Let me get this straight:" she said, "Some nights, you wear your belt, boots, and cape to bed, but other nights, you sleep in them?"

"Yeah," Robin laughed. "I don't bother all the time. It gets annoying to take everything off and then put it back on, and I'm so used to sleeping in my equipment. I can do either one fine."

"Talk about lazy," Raven smirked. Robin rolled his eyes at her, smiling, before adeptly flicking open his communicator and pressing a button.

An annoying little tune played, before Cyborg came into view, sitting on the sofa. "Hey Robin!" he said brightly. "How's it going?"

"Pretty well," he said. "You guys finish up last night?"

"Yeah," Cyborg said. "Jinx was really annoyed, though. She threw Kitten in some sort of bubble thing see snitched off of Gizmo and rolled it downtown, so no one else would catch the curse. Now, Kitten's in an isolated cell so no one else can get infected."

"Cool," Robin said.

"Would you have Jinx bring us some breakfast?" Raven requested.

"Why?" Cyborg snorted. "All you ever have is herbal tea, anyway."

"That's none of your business," Raven said curtly.

"Wait a second..." Cyborg said, confused. "I thought you guys had to answer any question honestly. Why don't you have to?"

"Thank you!" Robin cried. "I've been wondering that since yesterday!"

"Really?" Cyborg asked Robin, who nodded. "That's really weird."

Raven scowled, apparently not liking being talked about as if she wasn't there.

"I know!" Robin exclaimed. "Sometimes she has to tell the truth, sometimes she doesn't. It's like the curse is intermittent or something."

"Funny," Cyborg remarked. "Well, I'll send Jinx up with some grub, and while you guys eat I'll look into it, okay?"

"Sounds good," Robin agreed. "Talk to you later."

"See ya," Cyborg said. The screen of Robin's communicator flickered to black.

Robin snapped it shut and turned to Raven, a triumphant grin on his face. He was slightly surprised to see Raven had moved, and was now looking out the window towards the east, a strange vacant expression on her face.

"Uh… Raven?" Robin said uncertainly. "Everything okay?"

Raven didn't respond.

Robin looked at her, concerned. They had been locked up for four days, which couldn't be good for Raven's emotion-run powers. She _had_ seemed to be experiencing drastic mood swings, as well.

The tone of comfort that had settled between them since Raven's nightmare seemed to have been sucked right out of the air, replaced with a feeling of foreboding.

"Raven?" Robin asked again, this time walking over beside her and joining her at the window. "You alright?"

"Look," Raven said, pointing off into the distance, ignoring his question. Robin squinted into the sun, looking for what Raven was gesturing at.

"What?" he asked.

"The clouds," Raven said simply, not turning from the window.

Robin squinted again, and this time, he saw what Raven was referring to. There were dark, heavy, ominous clouds hanging over the horizon that seemed to be slowly inching towards the rest of the sky.

"A storm's coming," Robin observed.

Raven stood silently at the window, not moving.

"Raven?" Robin asked again, growing more and more uneasy. _Is everything okay?_ he wondered, distressed. _Why is Raven acting so strangely?_

"This is the second storm in three days," Raven remarked, still looking out the window.

"What?" Robin asked, confused.

"Remember?" Raven turned around to look at Robin. "It stormed the night Kitten robbed the jewelry store, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Robin said, recalling. "What's your point?"

"That was a normal storm," Raven said, turning back to the window. "This storm isn't."

"What do you mean?" Robin asked, growing slightly irritated from Raven's mysterious comments.

"This isn't natural," Raven said.

"Raven!" Robin snapped, his patience waning. "You may not have to answer everything honestly anymore, but please, stop speaking so cryptically and tell me what the heck is going on!"

Raven whirled around, looking slightly shocked. Robin swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry," he apologized hurriedly. "I didn't mean-"

"It's okay," Raven said, still looking slightly stunned from Robin's outburst. "We've both been locked in this room for a while, and our nerves are worn down. There's no need to be sorry." Robin opened his mouth to speak, but Raven continued.

"I'm the one who should be sorry," she said, looking slightly ashamed. "All this time, people have been speaking in cryptic comments, and now I start… you must be going mad…"

"No kidding," Robin said, glad she understood how he felt. "I can deal with you not being ready to tell me about you past, but this is too much." He offered her a dim smile. "Care to explain?"

"Okay," Raven said. She turned back and gestured at the approaching storm again. "This storm," she said, "isn't normal."

"How can a storm not be normal?" Robin interrupted. "It's just a storm."

"This one's not natural," Raven said patiently. "We just had a storm, and the sky was perfectly clear afterwards. There's no way the atmosphere could collect enough water to storm again so soon."

"So… what's that mean?" Robin asked, trying to understand.

"Someone created this storm," Raven said darkly.

Robin stood still for a moment, stunned.

"Someone _created_ this storm?" he asked, astonished, gesturing at the black clouds. Raven nodded. "Is that even possible? Can that even be done?"

"Oh, believe me, it can be done," Raven said grimly. "In Azarath, they were a fairly common occurrence. We called them 'pravocella', meaning _evil storm_."

"Hang on…" Robin said, trying desperately to keep up. "I can understand that someone can _create_ a storm. That's not that far fetched, considering Thunder and Lightning and all the magic users we've run into, but now you're telling me this storm is _evil_?"

"Precisely," Raven said. At Robin's agonized expression, she smirked slightly, but continued.

"A pravocella is created by a combination of dark magic and evil intent," Raven explained, a slight scowl on her face. "It takes great hatred to create, and a distinct perversity of the caster, as well."

"Really?" Robin asked, intrigued. He couldn't help but want to learn more about Raven's history. "How so?"

"A certain sacrifice is required as part of the spell," Raven said delicately.

"What kind of sacrifice?" Robin asked.

"Let's just say- a _violent_ one," Raven said carefully.

"What kind of violent sacrifice?" Robin persisted. "What kind?"

Raven gave up all attempts at diplomacy.

"A human sacrifice," she said bluntly. "The caster has to select a victim and murder them with a silver knife, draw symbols with their blood, before saying the incantation." She looked at Robin's horrified expression. "Satisfied?"

Robin nodded dumbly.

"Good," Raven said, in a tone that clearly closed the discussion. "I'm going to go take a quick shower while we wait for breakfast." Without another word, she glided over to the bathroom.

Raven's words didn't seem to fully register in Robin's head. Her words kept echoing in his head.

_A human sacrifice…_

There was no way… you only read about that sort of thing in books… it never actually happened…

_Human sacrifice…_

Or did it?

_Sacrifice…_

A loud bang from outside the room brought Robin back to his senses. Shaking his head to clear it, Robin sat down on the nearest bed, and withdrew his communicator, opening it, and pushed a button on the side, calling one of the other Titans.

"Hi, Starfire," he said into it, looking down at the Tamaranian's cheerful face.

"Oh, hello, Robin!" Starfire said excitedly. "I have not talked to you directly since the curse of Jinx was placed upon you! Tell me, how are you fairing?"

"Rather well, actually," Robin said. "Listen, I need a favor: can you get to the Titan database?"

"I suppose so," Starfire said. "Cyborg is in the room of medical help, so I can access it."

"That's great, Star!" Robin said enthusiastically, as Starfire got up and moved. "Are you on yet?"

"Yes," Starfire confirmed. Robin could here keys clicking in the background. "Now what am I to do?"

"Do a search for all information on 'pravocella'," Robin instructed. He spelled it for her.

"I have never hear of such a word," Starfire remarked, as she tapped on the computer. "It sounds foreign."

"Raven mentioned it," Robin explained. "I want to know more about it."

"Aha!" Starfire said. "I have found a match!"

"Really?" Robin said, eagerly. "What's it say?"

"Pravocella," Starfire read aloud. "Though the original date of creation is unknown, a pravocella is a storm created through the casting of the _Ymber_ curse, which creates a storm that the caster can control. Pravocella is often referred to as the 'evil storm' because of the immoral requirements of the _Ymber_ curse to cast it. This curse is often used to create a cover of darkness for when a crime is committed, or to flood something. It is also used for assassination as the caster can choose to control where lightning lands."

"It goes on to say how to cast the _Ymber_ spell," Starfire informed Robin, looking ill. "It involves the murder of innocent people and other actions that are grotesque. Do you want me to read that to you as well?"

"No, that's okay," Robin said hurriedly. "Don't bother. I don't want to know."

"If that is the end of your request," Starfire said, "I must leave this conversation. I have to ready myself."

"Get ready? For what?" Robin asked, curious.

"My date with Speedy," Starfire told him happily, a smile spreading across her face. "He brought me pretty dead earth plants and asked me to accompany him to a 'play' this evening. I am most excited!"

"That's great, Star!" Robin laughed, her enthusiasm contagious. "I hope you have fun."

"Oh, most assuredly, I will!" Starfire said joyously. "I shall 'see you'!" Robin's screen flickered to black as the Tamaranian disconnected the line.

_An evil storm,_ Robin thought, glancing towards the window. _This can't be good. _Although he ad never heard of such a thing before, Robin was sure that this pravocella thing was a bad omen of things to come. Shaking his head, Robin moved to replace his communicator.

As Robin went to put it away, two things happened in quick succession. First, the communicator chimed again, signifying Cyborg was calling back. Second, Raven came out of the shower, not in a leotard, like she had before, but wrapped in a towel.

Robin fumbled for the communicator and caught it, just as he caught sight of Raven. His eyes bulged and he fell backwards off the bed, stumbling as he simultaneously opened the communicator and clumsily dropped it beside him, breaking the threatening mood of the room.

"Dude? You okay?" Cyborg's worried voice said, concerned. Robin could here Raven laughing from the other side of the room. His face flushed, and somersaulting over to regain his footing, he saw Raven smiling at him, laughing, still in her towel.

Robin felt his eyes inexplicably drawn to the lithe mystic as she laughed. Her amusement was evident, yet her laughs were good-natured, and sounded like the tinkling of rain. Her towel had slipped slightly, revealing a portion of her ample cleavage, causing Robin's mouth to become dry. The towel went to mid-thigh, making her smooth legs look endless.

"Robin?"

Reluctantly stopping his visual voyage, Robin pulled himself back together and picked up his communicator from the floor. "I'm here," he told Cyborg, his eyes, traveling over the edge of the communicator toward the dark goddess standing by the wall, smiling teasingly.

"I found what you asked for," Cyborg told him, "About why Raven can't lie."

Robin snapped back to attention. "What did you find?" he asked, his mind jerking back to the task at hand.

"Yes," Raven drawled from behind him. "Do share. I'm positively _dying_ to know what you've discovered." Robin whirled around to see Raven standing behind him, looking over his shoulder into the communicator, her body hidden from Cyborg's sight by his. Robin was slightly grateful that he was the only one to see Raven like this, though he wasn't quite sure why.

"It has to do with her birth," Cyborg explained. "Raven has demon blood in her; about half. It's what gives her her powers and healing abilities. Because of it, Raven is more quick to heal from injuries, physical and magical alike. Her body is healing from the curse, making its effect on her intermittent. She should be fully healed two or three days before it wears off of you, Robin."

"I surmised as much," Raven murmured. Robin felt his chest tighten as Raven leaned forward against him to get a better view of the communicator, absently pressing her chest against his back.

"That makes sense," Robin said awkwardly. It was hard to gather enough thought to form an adequate response with Raven pressed up against him like that.

"Now, about that breakfast…" Raven reminded Cyborg. Cyborg's human side of his face flushed slightly.

"Sorry," he said. "It slipped my mind."

"Why did the prevention of our starvation slip your mind?" Raven deadpanned, her eyebrows raised. Cyborg winced.

"I was hanging out with Jinx and stuff," he muttered, his face a brilliant red.

"Why, Cyborg," Raven said, a jaunting tone in her voice, "you're blushing. Could there be some deeper reason to why asking Jinx to feed us slipped your mind?"

"No!" Cyborg said defiantly, his face flaming. "I'll get Jinx to get you breakfast. Talk to you later." Cyborg hurriedly terminated the connection.

Raven laughed, and walked over to her bed. Robin's gaze was pulled to wet tendrils of hair sticking to the back of her neck, the bulge of her rear, and her silky legs.

"What do you think about that?" Raven asked, as she crouched down to retrieve a clean leotard from the dresser Robin had let her use. Robin felt strangely sorrowful that Raven hadn't bent over to retrieve her clothes.

"It's hot," Robin responded automatically, his attention still focused on Raven's body. Robin colored, but Raven didn't seem to realize what he meant.

"I'm not sure 'hot' is the right word," she said, levitating her towel in front of her as she changed behind it, "but it's definitely cute." Her changing completed, Raven let the towel fall, and sprawled out on her bed.

"Who knew?" she mused aloud. "Jinx and Cyborg. I'd have never expected it."

_That's what she was talking about!_ Robin realized. _She was talking about Cyborg! Not her body!_ Robin groaned, slightly ashamed that his mind had been too focused on Raven to comprehend her question.

"Oh, don't worry," Raven said, misinterpreting his response for the second time. "Jinx may be a villain, but she's not too bad. Her sassy attitude will match Cyborg's perfectly."

"Starfire's going out with Speedy to the theater later tonight," Robin told her. "Did you see that one coming, either?"

Raven laughed. "I'm not surprised," she said. "Starfire used to have that crush on you, so it's no surprise she's attracted to someone so like you."

"Everyone seems to be pairing up," Robin mused to himself. "I wonder why."

"We're just at that stage in our lives," Raven said, smiling. "We're teenagers. It's only natural for us to be attracted to someone else and act on it."

"Beast Boy hasn't gone out with anyone since Terra," Robin objected. "He doesn't like anyone."

"You're hardly one to comment," Raven smirked. "Neither have you."

"So?" Robin said defiantly, his face reddening.

"It's just an observation," Raven said, smirking at his defensive response. "Do _you_ like anyone?"

Robin bit his tongue, holding in his response for as long as he could. Raven leaned toward him, interested.

"Yes," Robin said finally. "I like someone." He waited, wincing, for Raven's inevitable question.

_This is it,_ Robin thought to himself, his heart pounding. _I'm actually going to tell her. There's no way out of it. _

To his surprise, the question didn't come.

Opening his eyes, he saw Raven, looking at him with a soft expression on her face.

"I'm not going to force you to tell me something like that," she told him gently. "That's personal. It'd be invading your privacy."

Strangely, Robin felt somewhat sad that she didn't ask him.

"You can, however, tell me whenever you'd be comfortable with me knowing something like that," Raven said, looking at him, a foreign spark in her eye.

_Is she… hopeful?_ Robin thought, astonished. _Does she want me to tell her who I like?_

"I…" Robin opened his dry mouth, the words hard to come out. "I…"

"Food's here!" Jinx announced, bursting in through the door, carrying a large tray, overflowing with bacon, eggs, bagels, milk, and other breakfast foods. She set it down on the table, giving them a wide smile, before flouncing out the door, skipping on her merry way.

Raven and Robin sat still for a moment, shocked by the strange scene they had just seen, before bursting out in laughter. They had never seen Jinx acting so strangely or happy. They laughed for several minutes.

"That – was – _funny_!" Raven gasped out, her face flushed from lack of oxygen, smiling nonetheless.

"No kidding!" Robin laughed, smiling slightly. He fell silent, though, and Raven stopped her giggling shortly after. "It kind of killed the mood, though."

Raven's eye flashed, but not with anger. She looked intent, and Robin swallowed hard.

"Raven," Robin began, "I- I need to tell you something."

Raven held up a hand.

"Like you said, it ruined the mood," Raven said quietly. "Now is not the time for sharing secrets. Tell me when the time is right."

Robin listened, and understood. _It's like I'm forcing it out right now,_ he realized. _Raven wants me to tell her only when I want to, not because I feel obliged. _

Robin smiled at Raven, who returned it with a small one of her own.

"Want some breakfast?" he suggested, an unseen twinkle in his eye.

"Yes!"

Raven and Robin fell upon the tray, ravenous in their eating. As they stuffed themselves, having not eaten for a while, Robin chanced a glance at Raven, who was eating scrambled eggs with her herbal tea.

_I wonder when we be the right time to tell her,_ Robin thought to himself. _I wonder if it will be soon._

Behind the two teens, the forgotten storm swirled ominously, growing by the second. Despite the fact that Robin had forgotten it, it continued to inch across the sky towards the city, an unspoken promise of darkness and evil to come.

¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ ø,¸¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°°º¤ ø,¸¸,ø ¤º°°º¤¸,ø¤

dun dun dunnnnnn... :P So, what did you think? The suspense is building, and our characters will have their final conflict soon, or at least a part of it. Please, review! they are the sole energy that keeps me writing!


	8. Storm

A/N: Aha! I, Artemis, have finally passed my finals and gotten out for the summer! That means I can spend more time writing and updating, which I know you faithful fans will appreciate, especially the ones who feel the need to review soley to say, "It's been two weeks. UPDATE!" All I have for the next month or so is volleyball, so my time is FREE! Props to Vinnie, for the astonishing beta job, and Ms. Kondrot, who's easy final gave me time to work on this.

Now, the climax of the story occurs, _or does it?_ At any rate, this chapter is intense. Keep in mind, teenagers are usually dull and secretive when it comes to their feelings, and very unlikely to just flat-out admit them. Therefore, Robin is not being completely densel he is just a typical teenage male. (Ask your son, Vinnie!)

**Honesty**

**Chapter 8**

Raven found herself unconsciously ogling Robin for the third time since they had started their game.

Internally sighing, exasperated, Raven tore her eyes from the masked lad sitting across from her and tried to focus on the chessboard. Her eyes were drawn back a moment later, however, as if pulled by an outside force.

Robin silently moved his bishop.

_Ha! _Raven crowed internally, triumphant. _I was hoping he'd do that!_

Raven was quick to capture the offending bishop with her knight.

"Where'd that come from?" Robin asked, astonished. "I thought that was a perfectly safe move!"

"Well, it wasn't," Raven teased, setting the bishop aside.

"Nothing's ever as it seems with you," Robin remarked, looking up at her with teasing smile.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Raven asked, a teasing smile on her own face as well.

"Oh, it's a good thing," Robin responded, a slow seductive grin spreading over his face. He lowered his voice slightly. "It's a _very _good thing." With that, he turned back to look at the board.

A slight shiver spread throughout Raven's body, as Robin moved his rook.

Raven grinned, and captured the pawn he had left unguarded behind it. Robin groaned.

"That's the second dumb move I've made in a row!" he complained. "It's too hot out to concentrate!"

"Nice excuse," Raven shot back playfully. "But it's still your turn."

Robin feigned a tired sigh, and focused on the board once again.

Raven had to concede to his point, though. It _was _hot. The summer heat, which had stayed at a bearable 70 degrees, had taken a drastic jump to the mid 90's, and combined with the humidity from the coming storm, the weather was practically unbearable.

Raven had discarded her cloak and boots, opting to stay solely in her leotard, which she had run under the cold water of the sink, cooling her immensely, which Robin's eyes had noticed instantly. The temperature wasn't the only thing that was making it hot in the room, however, Raven considered, as she silently drank in the sight sitting across the bed from her.

Robin, affected by the heat as well, had discarded his shirt, gloves, and boots, deciding to stroll around in only his mask, pants, and belt. It was quite a view, seeing his fit, lean body saunter around confidently, the humid summer heat causing drops of sweat to glide down his chest to vanish into his waistband and coat his face and hair. Currently, the Boy Wonder was leaning over the board, absent-mindedly running his fingers over his lips as he contemplated his next move.

Raven bit her lip slightly, trying not to let Robin see how he was affecting her. She knew she should keep her cool, but the combination of a half-naked Robin and the summer heat had her nerves frayed like cat-tested yarn. Didn't he know what he was doing to her?

Granted, she had done her fair share of flirting earlier, but that was only to get his attention! He had been focused on the fact that she could lie, which was related to a sensitive subject she didn't want to get in to…

Even to her own ears, her excuse was pitiful.

Shaking her head slightly, and not willing to consciously acknowledge why she had really wanted to tease Robin, she asked dryly, "Are you going to move sometime this century?"

Robin bit his lip, before moving his queen. "This is _hard,_" he defended himself.

The notion of asking _'What's hard?' _crossed her mind, before Raven dismissed the thought. She would _not_ let her hormones rule her mind.

Playing an intense game of chess such as this required holding thousands of possible moves and outcomes precariously in your mind. Raven suddenly realized that at some point of her visual voyage, they had all flown out of her mind.

Frustrated, Raven fell back on an old delay tactic.

"You're _castling_?" Robin asked incredulously as Raven moved her king and rook. "That's the best move you can find?"

"Shut up," Raven scowled. Robin let a slow grin spread across his face.

"Maybe it _is_ to hot in here for you to concentrate," he remarked innocently.

"Maybe your antics are just making my blood boil," Raven retorted. Robin wouldn't let it drop, however.

"What antics?" he asked, teasing, as he moved a pawn.

"Nothing," Raven said, as she considered her next move. Hearing a loud yawn, she glanced up from the board.

Robin was stretching widely, bending backwards and arching his back until it made a satisfying crack. He looked over to Raven, who was watching, and remarked, "See something you like?"

"Yes," Raven responded automatically. _Damn it!_ she internally swore. _The curse is affecting me again!_ Dodging her honest response, she said, "It's this move," as she captured his rook.

"_Sure_ it is," Robin teased, but looked down at the board to find a move nonetheless. He found it after a moment, and looked up at her, a winning smile on his face.

"Are you _sure_ you've been concentrating?" he asked, faking concern, as he took her queen. Raven grimaced.

"Yes," she retorted, as she took a nearby pawn.

"Oh, are you sure?" Robin teased, taking a rook. "I don't think you have been. Check."

"I have too," Raven defended herself, as she hurriedly moved her knight to protect her king.

"I think you've been too busy admiring the view," Robin flirted, as he moved his bishop.

"Arrogant idiot," Raven shot back, moving her own bishop into position.

"You know it," Robin teased, moving his bishop again. "Check."

Raven silently moved her king. _Just one more move…_ she thought to herself, holding on to her last thread of patience.

Robin moved his pawn. _Yes!_

Raven looked up and looked directly into the white of his mask, knowing she was meeting his eyes. "Checkmate," she said, moving her knight.

"What?" Robin exclaimed, astonished, looking down at the board. Sure enough, Raven had pinned his king, trapped by her bishop, rook, knight, and his own pawns.

"Now who wasn't paying attention?" she teased, smug in her victory.

"Oh, shut it," Robin said playfully. He reached out his hand. "Good game."

Raven took it and shook it. "Good game," she agreed. "Although, next time, you might consider watching the game instead of watching someone's reactions to your flirting."

"What!" Robin protested, his face flushing slightly.

"Oh come on!" Raven teased. _"See anything you like?"_ she mocked him, putting on a fake male sexy voice.

"So maybe I was," Robin shot back. "But only because you were flirting with me earlier, parading around in that skimpy little towel!"

"As if," Raven scoffed, smiling. "I had forgotten my leotard out here. If I wanted to tease you, I would have walked out naked to get it."

Robin bit his lip at that, hard. Raven smirked.

"You're thinking of me naked, aren't you?" she teased. Robin muttered something incomprehensible.

"I thought so," Raven said winningly, putting away the game.

"That's not fair," Robin protested loudly. "I still have to tell the truth, and you don't."

"On the contrary," Raven responded, "I have to tell the truth as well. I can just avoid answering directly."

"So, if I were to ask you whether you think I'm hot or not," Robin asked, looking at her, an eyebrow raised, "your answer would be true?"

"Yep," Raven said, telekinetically putting the chess box back into the game drawer.

"Do you think I'm hot?" Robin asked, grinning at her.

"Maybe," Raven responded airily. Robin groaned.

"See?" he accused. "That's what I mean! You don't have to answer anything directly unless you choose to, whereas I do!"

"You mean if I asked you if you think I'm hot, you'd have to say 'yes', instead of saying 'maybe'?" Raven teased.

"Yes, but that's not the point!" Robin objected, his face coloring, flustered at having indirectly admitting he though Raven was hot. "You could ask me anything invasive, and I wouldn't be able to retaliate!"

"I haven't asked you anything invasive, though, have I?" Raven shot back.

"No, but you could!" Robin retorted. "You could ask what my true identity is, and I'd have to tell you!"

"You're overreacting," Raven told him. "You're making mountains out of molehills. I wouldn't ask you something so invasive of your privacy."

"I'm right! You know it!" Robin shot back. "You could ask me who I really am, and I'd have to tell you!"

"I wouldn't ask that," Raven said, rolling her eyes. Robin raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?" he asked, suspicious.

"Because I already know," Raven informed him, boredly examining her nails.

"No way!" Robin exclaimed. "Prove it!"

"Oh, shut up, Dick," Raven said, rolling her eyes, as she reclined back onto the bed. "You're Richard Grayson. Happy now?"

"No!" Robin retaliated. "How do you know that?"

"I'm right, aren't I?" Raven asked him.

"Yes, but-"

"I'm right. End of discussion," Raven announced, putting a pillow over her head.

"No! This is not the end of discussion! How do you know?" Robin's insistent voice permeated the pillow, albeit slightly muffled. Raven sighed, and removed the pillow.

"Your little DNA buddy from the gazillionth dimension," Raven informed him.

"Larry?" Robin asked, confused.

"That's the one," Raven confirmed. "Anyway, do you remember what his original name was?"

"Nose-yard-kid, or something weird like that," Robin said, exasperated. "So what?"

"To be precise, it was Nosyargkcid," Raven told him.

"So what?" Robin said, growing visibly aggravated.

"Do you know what Nosyargkcid spells backwards?" Raven asked him. Robin paused for a moment, thinking hard. Comprehension dawned on his face.

"Dick Grayson," he breathed.

"Bingo," Raven said, pulling the pillow over her head again, only to have Robin tug it off a moment later.

"Surely that alone couldn't have made you sure!" Robin accused, standing over her. "What kind of nut randomly reverses people's names to see if there's a match?"

"A nut like me, obviously," Raven scowled, insulted.

"Something else must have told you!" Robin insisted angrily. "What is it? What?"

The light playful mood of the room seemed to have instantly evaporated, leaving thick tension between the two. Gone was the fun, light flirting, and in its place, intensity and wild accusations had formed.

"If you must know, I saw a flash of your acrobat parents falling to their deaths at a circus when I went into your mind," Raven informed him, getting off the bed to stand. "After that, it was only logic. Now, please, drop it. I am trying to hold onto control of my emotions, and you are making it prove a very difficult task."

"I knew it!" Robin crowed. "I knew it! You only know because you invaded my brain!"

"Excuse me!" Raven said angrily. "I saved your life! If I hadn't gone into your mind to see what was wrong, you would be dead from your own delusions about Slade!"

A knocking came at the door. "Everything all right in there?" Beast Boy's muffled voice asked.

"No!" Robin yelled.

"Yes!" Raven yelled.

"Ohhhh-kaay. Well, if you need anything, just give me a buzz, okay?" Beast Boy said, before walking away.

"Being dead might be better that having people know my true identity," Robin grumbled.

"Not people - person," Raven reminded him, scowling, holding on to her last fraying nerve. "I'm the only one who knows, so there's nothing to worry about."

"How do I know you haven't told anyone?" Robin accused. "Perhaps that dragon friend of yours."

"Are you insane?" Raven cried. "Why would I tell anyone? It's not like people casually discuss your true identity in normal conversation! Besides, I know how important that secret is to you!"

"Sure…" Robin scoffed.

"What the hell is going on with you?" Raven asked, astonished. "Don't you trust me at all? We've been friends for god knows how long, and you're losing your cool because I know one secret facet of your life? Give me a break!"

"You know who I am!" Robin yelled. "You know all about my past, and I know nothing about yours!"

"Believe me, you'll find out soon enough!" Raven yelled back.

"Good! Because once I do, we'll be even, and I'll be able to exploit it like you can exploit mine!" Robin shouted.

"I never exploited what I know about you!" Raven yelled. "No one knows! No one! Only me!" The window shattered, glass shards falling out through the air.

"You could have told anyone!" Robin screamed. "You could have told someone, and I would never know!"

"But I didn't, you idiot! I never told anyone!" Raven screamed back. "You're just so paranoid about everything that you never trust anyone!"

"I'm paranoid? Look at you when Terra was here! You were paranoid to your mind's end!" Robin yelled accusingly.

"I was right about that, wasn't I?" Raven yelled. "Whereas you're not trusting your friends simply because you're paranoid of everyone! You never trusted us with your Red X plan, you never trusted us to find the stupid detonators when you were convinced Slade was back, and now you don't trust me that I've never told anyone your true identity!"

"If you dislike me so much, maybe you should go and join Slade!" Robin yelled. "He certainly wants you too, and you'd fit right in!"

The room was deathly silent after that remark. Raven was looking at Robin, hurt, as if he had physically cut her open with a sharp blade. Robin swallowed hard, and seemed to realize what he had just said.

"Raven…" he said, moving towards her. Raven instinctively moved back, her eyes wide.

"Raven…" he said desperately. "Raven, I-"

For the second time that day, Jinx burst in unannounced. This time, however, she was _not_ happy.

"You guys just had to have a lover's quarrel, didn't you?" she scowled. "Now I have to patch up the stupid window."

Jinx looked from Robin to Raven, and quickly grasped what was going on.

"Robin," she directed, "sit on your bed, and don't say a word to Raven." Robin didn't move.

"Fine then," Jinx sighed, hitting Robin with a pink energy wave, which sent him sprawling back onto his bed. She turned to Raven.

"Raven-" she began. Raven silently floated over to her own bed. "Smart girl," Jinx commented. "I brought up a box of your things, so you two could have something to do besides yell at each other. Though, judging from the spell residue on Raven, she only has a few more forced truths before it wears completely off, with a brilliant pink flash, I might add. Now, behave while I fix this window."

Robin reached for his research notebook on Slade, while Raven levitated _The Exorcist_ to her.

"Good kids," Jinx said nastily. Robin scowled, resenting being told what to do, while Raven didn't react. Jinx turned to examine the missing window, while Robin flipped open his notebook.

Raven internally sighed, and opened her book. _Robin had no idea what his remark meant,_ she thought to herself tonelessly. _He has no idea how close to home it hits. _She glanced over at the Boy Wonder, who was defiantly flipping through his notes.

_I wish he knew how much his words hurt._

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Robin looked up from his notebook to look around.

Jinx was still duct taping giant clear garbage bags over the hole to last through the night, and keep them safe from the coming storm. They would fix the window later after the curse had completely worn off. The setting sun was filtering in through the glass that remained embedded in the window frame, and the dark storm clouds were ominously growing closer.

Raven had finished her first book, and was reading some new thing, that she seemed to be reading backwards. Robin considered asking, but judging from the cold expression on her face, it wouldn't be a good idea. Perhaps he should apologize…

_There's no reason for you to apologize! _Robin yelled at himself internally. _She knows your true identity! That's a secret you've been keeping your entire life!_

_She never told anyone, though. She kept it secret, _Robin's conscience reminded him quietly.

_How do I know she's not lying? _Robin shot back at the annoying little voice in his head.

_She's under the curse too. Whenever she answers something directly, it's the truth. _

Robin scowled. _Now I'm going schizophrenic, in addition to being cursed,_ he groaned internally.

"There!" Jinx announced, stepping back from the window proudly. Robin and Raven looked up to see the hole in the glass patched up by clear garbage bags duct taped to the jagged shards of glass that remained in the window frame. Robin raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"I _know_ it's a mess and ugly," Jinx said, scowling. "But it'll suffice until tomorrow. The storm's coming, and all we really need something to keep the water out. Have a good night."

With that, she gathered up her supplies, and left the room.

Robin cast a glance at Raven, who met his gaze coolly.

This was going to be a _long_ night.

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Robin awoke to for the third night in a row to a shrill noise. This time, it wasn't the alarm, or Raven having a nightmare.

It was the sound of people screaming.

Jerked awake, Robin ran to the window, and looked through the clear garbage bags.

The city was on fire.

"Oh, no!" Robin heard Raven exclaim desperately. He turned, to see Raven at his side, looking out the window, with anguish on her face.

"Do you know what's going on?" he demanded, his tone slightly harsh. Raven nodded.

"The person who created the storm is using the lightning to set fire to all the buildings in the city," Raven told him. "People are running around in the streets, dodging lightning bolts and fire, screaming for their lives."

"Who is doing this?" Robin asked, righteous fury boiling in his veins. "Can you show me who is causing all this?"

Raven traced a circle in the air, leaving a trail of eerie black fire behind her hand. The black flames flared brightly, before an image shimmered into view inside them.

"Slade," Robin snarled. "I should have known."

Within the portal, Slade was riding a giant bolt of lightning, sending all the people running from him in terror as he sent great thunderbolts every which way, causing mayhem and chaos all around him.

"Why isn't he just using his new fire powers to set the city on fire?" Robin asked, trying to understand his enemy's tactics. "I don't get it!"

"The lightning can hit more places faster and farther away," Raven theorized, her eyes darkening with rage. "Plus, the storm and lightning are frightening all the people more that a mere fire could."

"Sadistic and satanic as ever," Robin commented, his face hard with fury.

"You have _no_ idea how right you are," Raven said darkly.

Robin shot her a look, before turning back to look at the portal.

"Where are the Titans?" he asked, desperate. "What are they doing?"

Raven silently shifted the portal to the Titans, who were doing their best to stop the fires from spreading, with Starfire blasting open fire hydrants, Beast Boy shooting water from his trunk in elephant form, and Cyborg running into the buildings saving all those who remained inside.

"Why aren't they stopping Slade?" Robin demanded. "You have to stop the source of the problem, not just its effects!"

"How can they?" Raven said despairingly. "How are they supposed to stop Slade? Look at him! He'll fry them with lightning before they even get close!"

Robin briefly considered her words, before making a rash decision.

"I'm going out there," he declared. "Someone needs to stop Slade, and it's going to be me."

"Are you insane?" Raven asked, horrified. "You're still contagious! You'll make the situation even worse! Besides, in this state, you'll kill yourself!"

"I'm not insane!" Robin snarled. "I'm going to go kill Slade."

"Robin, you _can't_!" Raven cried.

"Why not!" Robin yelled.

"Oh, trying to kill someone who's _immortal_ now is a _very_ intellegent thing to do!" Raven snapped. "You seem to have _forgotten_ the tiny little fact that you _can't_ kill him because of it, though!"

"Watch me!" Robin retorted, impulsively ripping the garbage bags viciously from the hole in the window and tossing them out. Harsh winds assailed them, swirling viciously around the room with ominous whistles. He noticed Raven shiver, as if she were chilled to the bone. He leaned out the window, the rain drenching him in slashing sheets.

"You can't!" Raven yelled above the wind and rain. "You can't go!"

"I _have_ to go!" Robin yelled, though he wasn't sure whether he was talking to Raven or himself. "I _have_ to!" He moved as if to jump out of the window.

"No!" With a loud cry, Raven leapt at Robin, tackling him, sending them both to the floor beside the wall. Robin struggled against her, but Raven quickly pinned him to the ground, having the element of surprise on her side.

"Calm _down_!" Raven demanded. "Stop!"

_Since when is Raven violent?_ Robin wondered. Ignoring his mental thoughts, Robin roughly shoved her off of him, being the stronger of the two.

"I have to go!" Robin yelled, his hair and uniform soaked from the rain blowing in the window. "I _have_ to go! I have to stop Slade!"

"You'll kill yourself!" Raven said urgently. "There's no way you can stop him!"

"Then so be it," Robin said darkly. He moved to the window again, and began knocking out the rest of the glass, making a big enough hole for him to fit through.

"NO!"

With Raven's sudden yell, Robin found himself being flung backwards to the ground. Robin looked up at Raven's desperate face, before wrenching himself from the ground and moving again.

"You can't stop me!" Robin yelled, charging towards the window. "You can't stop me! I'm going after him! I have to!"

"No you're not!" Raven yelled from behind him. With a loud _thud,_ Robin suddenly found himself pinned against the wall next to the window, thick bands of dark energy strapping him to the wall. Raven wore a determined expression, her outstretched hand encased in her dark aura.

"I won't let you," Raven said, her voice quiet but firm.

Robin was stunned that Raven would take such a stand. Raven usually kept out of fights and confrontations, unless she had a personal stake in them.

"Let me go!" Robin cried, struggling wildly. "I have to go stop Slade!"

"You will stop Slade, but not tonight," Raven said, determined, holding him against the wall. "If you try tonight, you will be killed."

"So?" Robin yelled, thrashing about wildly, trying to get one hand loose to reach his belt.

"I'm not going to let you kill yourself just because you feel it's your sole responsibility to stop Slade!" Raven yelled back. Lightning flashed viciously directly outside the window, making a huge clap of thunder shake the tower, making Robin wonder if it was Raven that had caused it.

"It's my choice!" Robin yelled. "Let me go!"

"No!" Raven yelled back frantically. "Stop it! I'm not going to let you go, no matter what you say!" Robin noticed Raven looked near tears, but he couldn't bring himself to stop the verbal assault. A bolt of lightning struck the river outside the window, causing the water to flash brightly.

"Why not!" Robin screamed. "If I want to go fight Slade, let me!"

"I can't let you knowingly go to your doom!" Raven cried, tears spilling from her eyes, barely distinguishable in the cascading rain.

"WHY NOT?" Robin screamed. "Why do you care so much! Why do you care what happens to me? Why do you care?"

Thunder boomed outside, lightning slashing through the sky, viciously cutting it with harsh electric power, as searing sheets of rain poured from the dark clouds above.

"Because I love you!" Raven screamed at Robin, her hair and cloak whipping wildly behind her in the fierce gales. "I love you!" she screamed, her voice raw with emotion. Lightning flashed directly outside the tower, causing the loud roar of thunder to momentarily drown out the screaming from the city. Robin gaped at her, stunned, and suddenly realized that _Raven_ was causing the lightning bolts to hit close to the tower.

"I love you, okay!" Raven yelled at Robin, her tone reckless and frantic, as lightning repeatedly struck the island the Tower was on in quick succession. The lighting lit Raven's face up in short bursts, illuminating her raw features eerily. "I've loved you since forever! And I can't let you go out there to die! I can't let you go! Because if you die, I'll die with you! I can't live without you, you jerk! I love you!"

There was huge bolt of lightning, immediately followed by a loud clap of thunder, as a violent pink flash exploded inside of the room, nearly blinding Robin.

Blinking rapidly, still pinned to the wall, Robin looked around frantically, and saw that Raven had collapsed on the floor.

_Jinx's spell,_ he realized. _It's worn off. That was the last question Raven had to answer truthfully…_

Raven seemed to come to the same conclusion at the same time Robin did, and, casting a horrified backward glance at Robin, stumbled to her feet, running for the door.

"Raven!" Robin screamed after her. "Wait!"

The door was flung open with a loud bang as Raven ran at it, through it, and down the hall, tears and rainwater streaming behind her.

An enormous bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, and another loud boom of thunder shook the tower, causing the door to swing shut and lock automatically from the outside once more. A second bolt surged through the sky as Robin's bindings dissipated, causing him to fall to the floor, crouching as hail pelted him roughly from the window. As a third bolt of lightning seared the sky, the thunder following it seemed as loud as an atomic explosion. Robin winced, tears leaking from his eyes.

Suddenly, it all stopped.

The lightning was gone, and the thunder ceased. Robin could still hear the people screaming from the city, but the storm was over.

As he lay there, kneeling on the ground, one thought ran through his mind.

Raven loved him.

She had loved him, all along.

And now, she probably hated him.

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Please, review! You know you want to, after an ending like that! Please, review!


	9. Interlude

A/N: IT'S - FINALLY - HERE! ((parties)) Okay, okay, I _know_ it took _forever_ for it. I had writer's block, so it took a while to get about half of it out, and then, thanks to my _very_ intelligent brother, my computer's files were all erased, due to the computer virus Sub7. Thus, Ihad to write all of this on ffdotnet's document manager, and it took forever.

With that said, I hope you enjoy! There will be one or two chapters more to this fic before the end. I haven't decided yet.

**NOTE TO VINNIE:** My computer's swiss cheese, and I haven't memorized your email address. Sorry I didn't send it to you to be betaed. :(

**Honesty**

**Chapter 9**

When Robin woke up the next morning, there wasn't a sign of the previous night's storm left in the sky. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and it was an all-around beautiful day.

Robin, however, felt like shit.

Having fallen asleep on the ground from pure exhaustion, Robin's back was understandably sore from sleeping on the hard surface for so long, and he had several bruises from where he had banged up against the frame of his bed in the night. A bitter taste floated around his mouth, and he felt nauseous to the point of throwing up.

That wasn't why he felt like shit, though.

As soon as he had woken up, all the memories from the previous night had come flying back at him, attacking him, streaming through his head like a cruel movie. Recollections of the evil storm Slade had created, his own impulse to fling himself out the window to fight, and how Raven had stopped him flooded his mind, like a dam had broke. Images of himself, Robin, yelling at Raven to let him go, and Raven crying, yelling that she loved him, before running out the door, threatened to take over his sanity.

It was enough to make anyone feel like shit.

Robin groaned and staggered to his feet unsteadily, only to flop down onto his bed, sinking into the soft mattress, his head buried in the pillow. He sighed, content, feeling slightly better, now that he was lying on his bed. Never again would he take his poor pillow and bed for granted. He loved them so.

A quiet knock at the door came, interrupting him from his sleepy musings. He lifted his head enough to call out a dismal "Come in", before slumping back down onto his pillow, not bothering to look up. What was the point? There was no way it would be Raven coming back to talk to him, and she was the only person he really wanted to see.

"Morning sunshine."

Groaning, Robin turned over, his eyes taking in the sight of Jinx entering the room, struggling to carry in a new window and a toolbox. He smirked as she attempted to haul her heavy load through the tiny doorway. Catching his eye, Jinx remarked, "You could help me, you know."

"I could," Robin remarked airily. "But I won't."

Finally making it into the room, Jinx dropped her load with a loud** thud** and turned to glare at Robin.

"Well, look who woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," she said nastily, her eyes glittering maliciously. Robin just rolled his eyes as he sat up. Sleeping time was clearly over.

"I wish," he snorted. "As it was, I didn't ever wake up on a _bed_, let alone the wrong side."

"Then where'd you sleep?" Jinx retorted.

"On the floor," Robin said automatically, his response forced.

Jinx smirked. "That's a _very _intelligent thing to do," she said, her voice oozing with sarcasm. "I'll be sure to try that tonight."

"Shut up!" Robin said irritably. "I didn't _mean_ to!"

"Then why did you?" Jinx shot back.

"After Raven ran out, I was too stunned to do anything," Robin heard himself say. "Before I knew it, morning was here."

Jinx glanced around. Robin saw her eyes widen as she realized that Raven really _wasn't_ around anymore. Understanding glittered in her eyes, and a wide smirk spread across her face.

"So _that's_ why you're so upset," she said smugly. "Your girlfriend ran out on you the second she could."

"She's not my girlfriend," Robin objected weakly.

"Yeah, but you want her to be," Jinx shot back, turning. Robin scowled. He couldn't object; he knew it was true. Robin would have given practically anything to have Raven be his girlfriend, save his soul and a few other things.

Robin glared at her dilently as she punched out the frame of the broken window. When she had done so, she turned to set it down, but not before shooting a scathing smile at him.

"You're just sulking because it's true," she sneered. "You'd _love_ it if Raven was your girlfriend."

"So what if it is?" Robin spat. Jinx ignored him as she set about putting in the new window.

"This is why I like the **_Honesty_** curse," Jinx remarked aloud. "You can't deny what you know to be true. It being contagious was just an added bonus."

"_I_ don't like it," Robin scowled.

"Too bad," Jinx said. "Deal with it." Peeved, Robin glowered at her turned back, mentally picturing a bucket of ice water being thrown over her head.

"So," Jinx said, not bothering to turn around as she addressed him, "since you're apparently not polite enough to volunteer information on your own-"

"Shut up," Robin snapped, glaring at her.

"-what happened last night with you and Raven?" Jinx finished, unfazed by Robin's interruption. Robin scowled.

"The storm and all the screaming woke us up," he said curtly, still petulant about being forced to answer all questions truthfully, especially to Jinx.

"And?" Jinx prompted, turning to look at him.

"We discussed what to do about it," Robin told her.

"Seems like the best decision would be **_nothing_**," Jinx drawled lazily, clearly enjoying baiting Robin. "After all, it'd only serve to endanger you and the city even further.

"I wanted to go fight Slade, to hell with the curse and the city," Robin said defiantly, a reddish tinge staining his cheeks.

"Very wise of you," Jinx said sarcastically. "Of course you should infect the city while killing yourself.

"Shut up," Robin snapped, embarassed. His impulses from last night _did _seem rather foolish now.

"Then again, _everyone_ knows all common sense flies right out the door with you wherever Slade's concerned," Jinx remarked. "Anyway, I assume Raven realized just how hare-brained your intentions were?"

"Yeah," Robin sniffed, insulted. "Long story short, I ignored her and tried to jump out the window, but Raven used her power to drag me away from it and cement me to the wall."

Jinx raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Yeah, I know. I didn't think Raven had it in her to be so outspoken either," Robin said, grumbling. "She shocked the hell out of me with that move."

"I'm not all together surprised," Jinx drawled. "Raven seems to have... a _weak_ spot where you're concerned."

"I guess so," Robin said. "Anyway, I started yelling at her, demanding to know why she wouldn't let me go. She told me it was because she cared, but I kept laying into her. She got so upset her emotions started making the storm worse."

Jinx shot him a reprimanding look, but Robin didn't catch it. He was getting caught up in his story. All the emotions he had felt last night were running through his veins again, like her was right there, in the moment all over again.

"Then, after a while of this arguing at the top of our lungs, I demanded to know why she cares so much," Robin said emphatically, "Then, out of nowhere, she yelled at me that she loves me! Then ther was this girnat pink flash, and I realize that the curse is over for her. Raven seemed to realize the same thing at the same time, because then she ran out of the room, tears streaming down her face.

Robin sighed dejectedly, as he reluctantly returned to reality. "Anyway, that's what happened," he said slowly, turning away. "You can go ahead and make your nasy comments now. I know you must be _dying_ to insult me while I'm so vulnerable." He waited, silent, but Jinx didn't make a sound.

"That's it? No curt comeback?" Robin said, hurt evident in his voice. "I was hoping to get the abuse done and over with."

"Robin," Jinx said hesitantly, placing a hand on Robin's shoulder. Robin shrugged her away.

"Robin," Jinx tried again. Her tone was rather docile, almost... nice. "I would never ridicule someone about something like this. Not even you."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean" Robin said suspiciously, turning to look at Jinx.

"Only that I feel sorry for you," Jins said, her eyes downcast, a gesture of peace. "Just because I don't like you doesn't mean I can't emphasize with what you're going through."

Robin sat there, silent as he absorbed her words.

"You know," Jinx said, sitting down beside him. "This whole thing started because Raven had a crush on you."

"What?" Robin asked, whirling around to look at her, astonished. "What are you talking about?"

"In the battle, remember when I threw a pink lightning bolt at you?" Jinx asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Robin said, thinking hard, trying to remember. "You threw one at Beast Boy and Raven, too, right?"

"Yeah," Jinx said. "Those lightning bolts are spells."

"Spells?" Robin asked.

"Yes, Bird Brain," Jinx said, rolling her eyes, her patience waning. "Spells! Incantations, hexes, curses, those sort of things. My name's _Jinx_, for Pete's sake!"

"Sorry," Robin said hurriedly. "So the lightning bolts are spells?" he prompted, wanting her to go on.

"Yes," Jinx said, getting back on track. "When I shot one at you, it was a curse for leprosy."

"Leprosy?" Robin asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I know," Jinx said, scowling. "I went a little over the top. I was mad that we were losing the fight, and it was kind of a desperate last attempt."

Robin shot her a look. Jinx pointedly ignored it.

"Anyway, because Raven knows magic she was able to recognize the spell for what it was. She came up to me after the fight, demanding to know why I had used such a powerful curse," Jinx said, carrying on with her tale. "I made some retort about you suffering, and she got really mad."

"Really?" Robin asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Jinx said. "It was clear from the hatred in her eyes that she felt something for you. I ragged on her about it, but she refused to admit it. Instead, she went over to the cops to get me convicted for attempted murder because of the leprosy thing."

"I remember that!" Robin exclaimed, recalling the incident with the police.

"Yeah. Anyway, when she came back andtold me,I blew a gasket. We started yelling, and she lost her temper and contro over her powers," Jinx went on. "I used that chance to get free. Then I started hurling things at her, trying to get her to admit that she liked you. The **_Honesty _**curse would have made her speak the truth until I got out of jail. But," she sniffed, "_you_ got in the way, diverting it, making it much more temporary."

"Why's it contagious, though?" Robin asked. Jinx waved a hand.

"Residual magic left from the leprosy curse and the fact it hit both of you," she said dismissively. "After that, you were out cold, and I went over and asked her if she liked you. See, because she'd have to tell the truth now."

"Yes, yes, I get that!" Robin said."What'd she say?"

"No," Jinx said.

"No?" Robin exclaimed, astonished, heartbroken, wringing his head. "What? Don't tell me that she just lovesme platonically! This is terrible!"

"Chill out," Jinx snorted. "With the chemistry crackling between you two these past few days, there's no way there's nothing but friendship between you. Anyway, she said something else, instead."

"What'd she say?" Robin demanded. "What'd she say?"

"You know," Jinx said, her tone condecending, her nose turned up. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you, the way you're demanding things like a king or something."

"Please!" Robin cried. "Please, Jinx, what did she say?"

"I don't know," Jinx said, wavering, clearly loving lording this power over him.

"Please, Jinx," Robin asked her. "Please, I'm begging you. What did she say?"

"That she loved you," Jinx admitted, relenting. "She loved you even then."

"You knew she _loved_ me?" Robin gasped. "And you didn't _tell_ me?"

"I thought it'd be better for her to tell you, so whatever relationship you guys wanted could evolve naturally," Jinx shrugged. "Besides, I didn't want to meddle in your affairs."

"Too late for that," Robin grumbled.

"Robin," Jinx said, uncharacteristically patient. "I don't see what you're so upset about. Raven's in love with you. What else is there to worry about?"

Robin muttered something incomprehensible, even to himself.

"What?" Jinx asked. "I couldn't hear you."

"I said I don't know what to do about it," he said louder, his cheeks flaming. Jinx laughed. Not a cruel, mean-spirited smirk, but a genuine laugh.

"No one really knows what to do about love," Jinx laughed. "We're all in the same boat. You have to play it by ear."

"What do you mean, 'no one knows what to do'?" Robin asked. "There have been thousands of successful relationships before us. How can no one know what to do?"

"Everyone's different," Jinx explained. "What works for someone may not work for another. There a books and stuff to guide you, but everyone has to feel it out on their own."

Robin cocked his head. This made a lot of sense. A relationship with Raven would be a lot different than any other. And with _him _in the picture too...

"I suggest that as soon as you can leave this room, you tell Raven how you feel," Jinx said. "No, strike that. Take a shower and clean yourself up first. Make sure you look great: pressed uniform, clean boots, the whole works. _Then_ tell her. Make it as romantic as possible."

Robin laughed. "Take a shower?" he asked, smiling. "This is your great advice on how to woo a girl?"

Jinx smirked. "You'd be surprised how many guys forget the essentials."

"Like Cyborg?" Robin teased. Jinx flushed, but a sad look crept over her face.

"Sometimes," Jinx confided. She looked up at Robin slowly. "I gave you advice. Will you help me in return?" she asked, her voice nearly cracking.

Robin looked down at Jinx, her face hopeful, her large eyes wet.

"Sure," he said gently.

"In a few days, the curse will end, and I'll be free to leave the Tower," Jinx told him, impatiently wiping her eyes. "But I'm not sure I want to."

"Cyborg?" Robin asked.

"Yeah," Jinx admitted. She looked up at Robin. "I really like him," she confessed. "I don't want to leave him, but I don't know what else to do."

"You can always stay here," Robin said. "With powers like yours, you'd make a great addition to the team."

Jinx laughed hollowly. "Me? Be a Titan?" she asked, her voice empty. "What about my friends? My school? My life?"

"I don't know," Robin conceded. "But I'm not going to encourage you to be a villian."

"Being a criminal is what I do best," Jinx said. "Your gifts, your powers - they can all be used for good. Mine - they bring bad luck. They can't be used for good."

"That's not true," Robin argued. "Look at Raven! She has dark powers, yet she uses them for good!"

"Yeah, and guess where that's gonna get her..." Jinx muttered.

"I beg your pardon?" Robin asked, having not heard her fully.

"Nothing. Listen, Robin, thanks for the offer and everything, but it's my decision, and I'll make it," Jinx said, backing up to leave the room. "Thanks for your advice. Remember, tell her how you feel, and be romantic. Girls love that."

"Yeah, thanks," Robin said, watching as she quickly left, shutting the door behind her. He smiled dimly. At least he had a plan, though he couldn't put it into action for a couple days.His eyes scanned the room, looking for something to do. His eyes fell onthe pile of stuff by the window, and he laughed.

"She didn't even finish putting in the new window!" he laughed. Getting up, Robin went over tocomplete what she had started.

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"Hey, Raven!" Cyborg exclaimed, jumping about a foot in the air as the dark mystic appeared in front of him. "I didn't know the curse had ended for you!"

"It wore off last night," Raven said, levitating to the kitchen. "How's everyone?"

"Not too bad," Cyborg said. "BB's at the arcade, and Star's gone shopping."

"You're still here," Raven noted. "How're you doing?"

Cyborg sighed. "I'm beat. Slade's game with that storm really took it out of me last night."

"We saw you running around saving people," Raven told him, as she set a kettle of water and tea leaves onto the stove to boil. "It must have been exhausting."

"The papers are all over it," Cyborg said. "No one died last night, but the city was in a panic. Everyone noticed that you and Robin weren't there, and the press wanted to know why. None of us knew what to say. You're the one who always makes the statements to the papers."

"Are they still expecting us to make one?" Raven asked, pouring the hot tea into a mug and floating over.

"Yeah," Cyborg admitted. "Reporters've been swarming around the island all day."

Raven took a long draught of her tea, before setting the mug down on the coffee table. "I'll do it," she said, moving to go to the door.

"Rae," Cyborg said. Raven halted, turning to look at him. "Is everything alright?" he asked. "It's just- you seem- I don't know- kind of out of it..."

Raven looked at him, her eyes blank.

"Sorry," Cyborg said hurriedly. "I was just- you know- concerned..."

"I'm not alright, but I will be," Raven interrupted, fixing Cyborg with a piercing gaze. "Robin and I had a fight yesterday, and I'm not completely over it yet."

"That sucks," Cyborg said. Raven rolled her eyes.

"You're so sympathetic," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. _"That sucks," _she imitated in a deep voice.

Cyborg laughed as Raven reached for her cup. "Well, we all know you're crazy about him," Cyborg said as she took a sip, "so I know a fight really must've-"

Raven choked and coughed, spitting the hot tea all over the coffee table. "What?" she gasped, still striving for air.

"Oh, yeah," Cyborg said, looking at her with concerned as she hacked up the liquid in her lungs. "We all know you like Robin-"

"_How_ do you know that?" Raven interrupted, looking at him sharply. Cyborg flinched.

"We heard you tell Jinx that you loved him after the fight," Cyborg told her. "Robin was the only one that didn't hear it, since he was knocked out."

A lamp blew up behind them. Raven impatiently waved a hand at it, and all the pieces collected themselves up and flew into the garbage can. "_Please_ tell me the media didn't get wind of that comment," she pleaded, desperate.

"You're in luck," Cyborg said. "The reporters at the scene were too chicken of Jinx to get that close."

Raven breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goddess for small favors," she said. Draining the rest of her tea, Raven levitated her mug to the sink, and rose from the couch. "I'll go talk to the press," she told Cyborg. "Talk to you later."

"Raven?" Cyborg asked. Raven turned. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?" he asked.

Raven's face softened. "I'm sure," she said. "I just hope you will be."

"What do you mean by that?" Cyborg asked, confused.

"Jinx is leaving as soon as Robin's better, which'll be in a couple days, " she said gently."I just hope you'll be able to deal with her departure."

"Jinx- leaving?" Cyborg fell back onto the couch, stunned.

"I'm sorry," Raven said sincerely. "I didn't know the thought didn't occur to you," Raven said, looking at him sadly from the door. "But she's a villian. She's going to leave to go back to the HIVE. That's the risk you run when you fall in love."

Cyborg just lay there, broken. A lone tear slid down his face from his human eye. Raven glanced at him sympathetically, before raising a hand, submerging Cyborg in a light blue aura, sending him off to dreamworld.

"Sleep well,Cy," she said as she left the tower. "It'll help heal yourbroken heart."

_If that's true, maybe you should be back in bed healing yourself, then,_ a voice in her head whispered to her as she descended the stairs.

_My heart's not broken, _Raven told her subconscious. _My heart's not broken._

_Wow, Raven, I'm astonished,_ her mind mocked her. _Your first lie in almost a week, and it's to yourself. You know you care about him, and you know your heart is bleeding._

_So?_ she challenged. At that, she stepped outside, to be greeted by the swarms ofjournalists and TV cameras, all focused on her. Reporters called out, "Raven! Care to make a statement?" and "Raven! Care you tell the city why you weren't at the fight last night?"

Raven sighed. This would take a while, and she was _not _ina patient mood.

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Worth the wait? Probably not, but there has to be space beween confrontations, now, doesn't there:P

Please, review! No death threats, please. I've recieved my fair amount for not updating every two hours, and some of them tend to freak me out, thus making it harder for me to write.

Please, review:)


	10. Honesty

A/N: And now, we're at the end of this sordid tale. This chapter, and then an epilogue in a week or two. ((sighs)) I enjoyed it. Did you?

Props to Vinnie, the beta extrodinaire, and Greg, who put me in a fluffy enough mood to write this. Enjoy! .

**Honesty**

**Chapter 10**

"Where is Robin?" Starfire asked Beast Boy, biting her lip worriedly. "The curse should have worn off by now."

"Chill out, Star," Beast Boy said, trying to calm her. "Robin'll be here soon."

"But when is it that he will be here?" Starfire said.

"I don't know," Beast Boy admitted. "Hopefully, so- hey! Speak of the devil!" he exclaimed, as Robin descended the stairs from the hallway.

"Robin!" Starfire exclaimed.

"Hey, Sta- Oomph!" Robin's breath was suddenly extinguished as Starfire tackled him in a bone-crunching hug, smiling widely. "How's it going?" he said weakly.

"Oh, Robin! I have missed you so!" Starfire said excitedly, squeezing him even tighter. "This week has been most un-fun without your leadership! And I was most worried! No one has seen you since the morning, and it is almost twilight!"

"Star? You're choking him," Beast Boy said, noting the bluish tinge on Robin's face.

"Oh," Starfire said, blushing, letting him go. A great gulp of air rushed into his lungs while Robin lay prostrate on the floor, his color slowly returning. "Sorry," Starfire said faintly.

"I missed you too, Starfire," Robin said, smiling weakly, as he slowly got to his feet. "Raven get this same welcome?" he asked, smirking.

"You can count on it," Beast Boy laughed. "Raven managed to escape by dissolving and rematerializing a few feet away, though."

"Where _is_ Raven?" Robin asked, looking around. "I don't see her or Cyborg, as a matter of fact." A cold fear that maybe Raven had changed her mind and run off with Cyborg flew into his mind, which Robin quickly squashed, knowing it was only his own insecurities speaking.

"It was the strangest thing," Beast Boy remarked. "Raven came in this morning with two tickets to a Demolition Derby and gave them to Cyborg, who grabbed Jinx and ran out. It was weird."

"I think our friend Raven is merely being kind towards Cyborg's plight," Starfire sniffed. "Jinx is leaving soon, and Raven knows that Cyborg will miss her terribly, and the versa of vice. She is only trying to help them out with a nice outing of lastness. There is nothing 'weird' about that."

"It's not like Raven to do things like that," Beast Boy shot back. "Come to think of it, she had a long talk with Jinx yesterday, too, in her _room_, no less, which no one _ever _goes into, so that was weird too."

"I have gone into Raven's room!" Starfire said hotly.

"Well, you're her friend," Beast Boy pointed out.

"Maybe Jinx is her friend as well!" Starfire said forcefully.

"No way!" Beast Boy denied. "There's _no way_ that Raven would make friends with _her!_"

"You are just saying that because you are 'sulky' that Cyborg has been spending more time with Jinx than playing the games of videos with you!"

"I am not!"

"You are too!"

"Am not!

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Guys! Guys!" Robin interrupted loudly, holding his hands up. Beast Boy and Starfire stopped their heated argument to turn to him, fire still sparkling in their eyes. _How did they ever last a week_ _like this?_ he wondered to himself, internally smirking as they shot one another glowering looks.

"As interesting as all this is, it still doesn't answer my question about where they are," Robin pointed out.

"Cyborg's out with Jinx at that derby," Beast Boy scoffed, dismissive. "I don't know where Raven is."

"You are being childish," Starfire informed him. "You are still upset about Terra, and now that everyone else but you has another of significance, you are being mopey."

"Me? Mopey?" Beast Boy objected. "I never-"

"Raven is in her room," Starfire interrupted, addressing Robin. "She has been in there for most of the day."

"If you ask me, she's hiding from you," Beast Boy told Robin. "Or from the press, maybe. They keep asking for 'clarification' on her statement."

"Please note that nobody did ask you," Starfire said coolly.

"Hey!"

"Hang on," Robin said quickly, intrigued. "Raven made a statement to the press?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in pleasant surprise.

"Yeah," Beast Boy said. "None of the rest of us knew what to do, so she took care of it."

"It is most likely still playing on the major stations of news," Starfire said. "They have been playing it over and over for several days."

"Want to see?" Without waiting for an answer, Beast Boy leapt over the back of the couch, promptly plopping down onto it and snatching up the remote, turning the TV on with a skilled flick of his wrist. The TV blared to life, the huge face of some random reporter swimming into view.

"-the only Titans there. Slade has since disappeared, but the events of that night remained unexplained. Raven has made a statement, we take you to it now..."

Robin watched as the TV camera switched over to one taken from on the Titans' island, judging from the angle and field of vision.

"The Titans have been working on an advanced cloaking technology meant to give us the advantage over villains through stealth," Raven said flatly, her irritation clearly evident in her voice. "Luckily, this worked when Robin and I initially tested it out at the recent jewelry store break-in, but it had some rather ill after-effects."

"We're working on cloaking technology?" Robin asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Beast Boy smirked. "Cy had better get started on that soon."

"Actually," Robin said, considering, "that's a brilliant idea. It'd give us a great advantage over the enemy, and wouldn't be too difficult to accomplish."

Beast Boy just rolled his eyes, turning to focus back on the screen, where Raven was addressing another reporter.

"Yes, we were sick," she said curtly, scowling at the questioner. "I just said that. But if words with more than two syllables confuse your miniscule mind, perhaps I should revert to simpler terms to suit your pathetic vocabulary..."

Robin smirked. _That_ was the Raven he knew.

"I wonder why the journalists keep coming back, even when Raven is so mean to them.," Starfire wondered aloud, making the broadcast difficult to hear.

"Because Raven's the only one who'll give them their story," Beast Boy said, his eyes still fixed on the TV. "Now be quiet. This is my favorite part coming up."

Robin watched as a reporter finished a question, and Raven's eyes flared.

"I am **not **pregnant!" Raven said furiously, glaring at the offending questioner. "So there is no point in bothering to answer your inquiry as to who the father is..."

"Raven!" another foolish reporter called, interrupting her. "Is it true that your sensitive reaction to today's questions is to be blamed on sexual tension between you and the Titan's leader, or are you PMSing?"

"I am **not** PMSing!" Raven snapped, her eyes taking on a decidedly reddish sheen. "And I am **not **being irritable because of sexual tension towards _anybody!_ I'm simply getting frustrated from answering your stupid questions!"

"Raven, we have heard reports of an affair being conducted between you and Sla-"

"That's **enough!**" Raven yelled, her eyes glowing a harsh red as someone's TV camera blew up off to the side. "Get off our island! Now!"

The next few few seconds were footage of mass panic as Raven used her dark powers to throw various reporters off the island into the river, the others running around in mass panic, screaming, before someone ran into the camera, knocking it over, sending the signal into nothingness.

"Clearly," the TV broadcast woman said, returning to the screen. "Something about the mistake of their cloaking technology's failure has the Titans very ups-"

"Turn it off," Robin said loudly, above Starfire's giggling, laughing himself. "I've heard enough." Beast Boy obediently turned it off, before joining Robin and Starfire in laughter.

"Somehow, her press conferences always end like that," Beast Boy pointed out, laughing.

"Raven once told me that it is a calculated deliberate intimidation tactic, designed to keep the press from harassing us more than necessary," Starfire revealed, still giggling.

"Or an excuse for her to freak out on the press," Beast Boy added, grinning.

Robin chuckled, before turning to Starfire again.

"You said Raven's in her room?" he asked. Starfire nodded.

"I'll see you guys later," Robin said, turning to leave. "I have something to talk over with Raven."

"You might exercise caution," Starfire warned him. "Raven has been very sensitive lately, and very raw in dealing with her emotions. We have just replace the 17th light bulb she has broken, and she might be meditating, or sleeping, or performing some demon ritual..."

Robin smirked. "Don't worry, Starfire," he reassured her. "I can handle her, no matter what she's up to."

Starfire smiled as he turned to go, walking down the hall towards his destination.

_I wonder what Raven is doing right now, _he wondered to himself. _I guess I'll find out soon enough. _

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Surprisingly enough, at the moment, Raven was not meditating, sleeping, performing a demon ritual, or doing any such thing.

She was doing the daily crossword.

Having scanned the first page's headlines '**Raven ruthlessly hurls reporters into chilly bay waters')** and glanced at the weather report (sunny weather, mid 70's, no unexpected storms), she had taken out the puzzle page. Having already completed the jumble, she was now diligently working on the crossword.

_Four letter word for 'frolic', _she thought, sucking on the eraser of her pencil thoughtfully, before filling in 'romp'. She smirked, and looked to the next clue. _Four letter word, 'not to be confused with lust',_ she considered, before filling in 'love'.

Speaking of love...

Raven scowled at herself, and shook her head violently, trying to refocus her attention on her puzzle. She would not waste her time mooning over Robin anymore. It was obvious he didn't feel the same way, so what was the point?

_Maybe he does..._ a hopeful voice whispered in some dark corner of her mind.

Raven snorted, remembering his shocked expression when she had yelled her feelings at him that fateful night.

_Maybe he just wasn't expecting it..._

_Like anyone would've expected that_, Raven shot back at the voice, rolling her eyes. _That's no excuse._

_There's still a chance..._

"Shut up, Hope!" Raven snapped aloud, annoyed. Sitting back on her bed, irritated, she realized the little voice had vanished.

Raven sighed. After hoping that Robin would send her a message through Jinx, give her a letter, or some other such futile romantic notion, Raven had firmly stomped down on her feelings, not wanting to deal with pointless hoping or the pain of rejection, instead choosing to focus on her mangas, her sketching, and her crossword puzzles.

It was working rather well, actually. If she kept herself busy, her mind would be focused, and not wander off to dream about Robin. The only problem was that he kept popping up in her thoughts when any little thing reminded her of him.

Like when she had been reading _Godchild,_ Cain's dark hair, slightly over-protective nature, and way of solving dark mysteries kept conjuring Robin's face into her mind. When she had been sketching a wolf, she was reminded of when Robin had been so worried for her when Beast Boy had gone psycho and turned into that man-beast thing. And now, when she was trying to do her bloody crossword puzzle, the word 'love' had to come up.

_So? _the little voice piped up again. _The curse wears off him today. He might come and see you..._

_Cut it out! _Raven mentally admonished herself. _Robin doesn't like me, he's not coming to see me, and I don't care! End of story!_

Rolling her eyes, Raven picked up the crossword puzzle again, and scanned the grid, looking for possibilities. A knock came at her door.

"Come in," she called absent-mindedly, wracking her mind for a 3-letter word for Indian weight. The door slid open, and Raven glanced up, before doing a double-take.

Robin was standing in her doorway.

He glanced around, looking at her decorations and furniture, observing the open curtains to let light in, before fixing his masked gaze on her.

"May I come in?" he asked.

"Sure," Raven heard herself say, automatically moving over on her bed to allow him a place to sit down. _Speak of the devil... _she thought, astonished, as he sat down. _He's actually here..._

"So..." Robin said awkardly, clearing his throat. "The curse wore off," he offered.

Raven bit her lip to stop from responding sarcastically. "I can see that," she said delicately.

"Oh! I saw your statement to the press," he told her. "Cloaking technology is a brilliant idea! It would really give us an advantage over criminals"

Raven sighed internally, disappointed. "I got the idea from when we were fighting Red X," she said flatly. "It was your original idea, I just evolved upon it."

"Just think: we'd be able to creep up on a criminal in action without them ever knowing; the element of surprise at its best. Not to mention them not having a clue as to where we were during the fight..."

"Do you think you'd be able to do without saying some line before the fight?" Raven drawled, sarcastic. "A noise would give our position away."

Robin laughed. "I'd learn to do without," he said, shrugging.

Raven sighed. "Robin," she said, looking at him. "Why'd you really come in here?"

Robin stiffened slightly. "What do you mean?" he asked, fooling no one.

"You may not have to answer anything truthfully, Robin," Raven said, looking at him with her violet gaze. "But your emotions are splayed across your face."

Robin looked away guiltily.

"Robin," Raven sighed, turning to glance out the window at the setting sun dejectedly. "You don't have to tell me anything. I already know."

Robin whirled around to look at her. "You do?" he said, a strange note that sounded like excitement in his voice.

"Yes, I do," Raven said, her voice a masking monotone. "I'll deal with it. Don't worry about me."

"How do you know?" Robin said, his voice now sounding doubtful.

"You may not want anyone to know who you are, Robin," Raven said, watching as the sun sank further from the fiery sky behind the horizon. "But I know you."

Raven turned to look at Robin, who was watching her carefully, his face measured and blank.

"Despite your hidden identity, despite your aloof nature, even despite your mask, I know what you feel," Raven said, her voice cracking slightly. "I'm sorry I yelled at you that I loved you. You don't need that on your mind."

"Raven..." Robin said, but Raven continued on, looking down.

"I know that I said I love you, and I know that you don't feel the same, but can't we forget it ever happened?" Raven said desperately, her raw emotions flickering across her face and in her eyes. "I couldn't bear to lose your friendship, and I'll be able to deal with it. I mean, I've had my heart broken before..."

"Raven," Robin said, his voice a little louder.

"We don't ever need to mention it again," Raven continued, unshed tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. "You can forget all about it, and we can go on just like it was before..."

"Raven."

"What?" Raven said, finally looking up at Robin, who was smiling softly at her.

"What?" she said again, his smile making her immediately suspicious. "Why're you smiling at me like that?"

Robin just smiled at her, not responding, his figure illuminated in the colors of the sunset issuing from the other window.

"Why're you smiling at me like that?" she demanded. "Are you mocking my feelings? Are you getting some sort of sick enjoyement from this?"

Robin just sat there, smiling, unmoving, his face not betraying anything except that queer smile.

"What's wrong with you?" Raven yelled at him, getting angry. "Cut it out! You're putting futile notions of hope into my mind! Stop it!"

Robin just smiled at her.

"This isn't fair!" Raven raged at him, her emotions raw and exposed, her tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "I can't see what you're feeling! You're keeping your face blank, and I can't see your eyes!"

Robin just smiled at her.

"Quit it!" Raven yelled at him, tears flowing freely down her face now. "Are you mocking me? Are you laughing at me? What's wrong with you?"

With a burst of fury, Raven reached up and ripped the mask from his face, and gasped at what she saw.

Robin's eyes were greyish blue, silver flecks sparking in the irises, looking like a stormy sky. There was wisdom and knowledge in their depths, and Raven found she wasn't able to take her own eyes from his beautiful ones.

That wasn't why she was so astonished, though.

For deep in those grey depths, hidden far behind the pupil and iris, was a familiar emotion.

Raven knew it well.

It shone in her own eyes whenever she was with her friends.

It had been in her eyes when she was with that dragon, Malchior.

And now it shone in her eyes whenever she thought or looked at Robin.

Robin looked at her, smiling gently, sensing what she had just realized. He shifted slightly, fixing his eyes on Raven's violet ones, wide with shock and astonishment.

"Raven," he said. Robin heard her breath catch in her throat.

"I love you," he said.

Time seemed to stand still.

Robin and Raven just sat there on the bed, unmoving, Robin looking at Raven, who just looked back at him, both painted by the fiery light of the setting sun. To an outsider, it might have seemed that they had both gone into shock.

But to them, a whirlwind of understanding and love had passed between their eyes.

With a loud cry, Raven threw herself on Robin, embracing him tightly. "I love you too!" she cried, though with relief or happiness, she didn't know. "I love you!"

Robin wrapped his arms around her, hugging her to him tightly.

"I love you too, Raven," he said, holding her against his chest. "I love you, too."

Raven looked up at him, happiness, joy, and love shining in her eyes. Before Robin knew what was going on, Raven's lips were pressed against his in a heated kiss.

Instinctively, not needing to think about in the least, Robin kissed her back, returning her passion.

Raven had been waiting for this moment for what seemed like her entire life. It may have been a long wait, it may have been a long time in coming, and it may have seemed an even longer time in anticipation and hope, but Raven knew that all that waiting had proved worthwhile.

Raven was kissing the love of her life, pressed up against him, holding him tightly, reveling in the sensation of one of his hands cupping her face, the other entwined in her hair.

As Robin ran his tongue across her lips tentatively, a moan escaped Raven's throat, and she opened her mouth, her tongue wrestling frantically with his. As he gently pushed her to the bed and rolled on top of her, their mouths still connected, a slow, lazy thought drifted though her mind.

Being this frank with each other, being this open with the other, showing emotions so freely to the one they loved...

_This_ was true honesty.

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((smiles)) I feel like I've accomplished _something_. Over 500 reviews is quite an accomplishment :).

Think we can break 600 or 700? Please, review!


	11. Epilogue

A/N: I apologize for the slight delay. School starts next week, and things have been kind of hectic with rushing about, fitting things in to the dwindling days of summer...

Kudos to Vinnie, who is the best beta ever, and puts up with my sarcasm, and to Jerrod, who I love writing with.

Enjoy!

**Honesty**

**Epilogue**

_6 weeks later..._

It was night.

Thick clouds clogged the sky, blocking out the shine of the stars, their rays of light lost in the immense mass. Only the moon's thin, milky glow managed to filter through the clouds, dimly outlining objects, casting eerie shadows into the darkness of the pitch black below.

The clouds shifted slightly, exposing a sliver of the moon. A slim ray of light fell upon the roof of the local Jump City museum, slowly entering through a dingy dirty skylight.

The moonbeam fell in, illuminating dust particles as they drifted about eerily. Shapes of various exhibits, sculptures, and paintings slid into view, and a small dark figure stepped into the ray of light.

As if they didn't like whoever had emerged, the clouds shifted again, plunging the figure into darkness. The figure grumbled slightly and fumbled with something at his waist, before raising his hand to his ear.

Clicking a button on the device he held, he muttered, "Report."

"Gizmo?" A female's voice crackled through the speaker, clearly irritated, judging by her tone. "Where are you? I've been waiting at the target for five minutes now!"

"I would be there, if the stupid pit-sniffing clouds would quit blocking out the stupid moon," the person called Gizmo said angrily. "I can't see a rotten stink-headed thing in the darkness, Jinx!"

"Then do something about it!" Jinx hissed. "I thought that pack on your back had some degree of usefulness. Or is it merely meant to look stupid?"

"Shut up, slughead!" Gizmo snarled. "Why don't you go pick on Mammoth? He's not at the mark yet, either!"

"I _have_ been!" Jinx spat. "But he seems to have gotten preoccupied next to a vending machine, judging from the location of his signal. I need to- oh shit!" A loud, crashing sound was heard nearby. Gizmo winced.

"Gizmo!" Jinx's voice was urgent over the speaker. "Something's happened to Mammoth! Get to the center of the exhibit as fast as you can. I'll get Mammoth." The transmission ended with a _click_.

"Stupid, booger-brained, pit-sniffing gunk munchers," he grumbled, withdrawing a pair of red-lensed goggles from his pack, "wanting to rob a stupid impressionistic gala exhibit at a trashy museum. Who cares about a bunch of old lumpy paintings, anyway? Why are they worth so much?" He paused to sneer at one nearby. "It must be because they're _old._"

Still mumbling, Gizmo strapped the goggles on and lowered them over his eyes.

Immediately, the scene was bathed in red light, with thin red security lasers clearly evident. Smirking, he made his way over to the control panel. Withdrawing a remote control, Gizmo expertly pressed a few buttons, hacking into the system and quickly disabling the security protocol.

A tiny light flickered from red to green. With an evil grin, Gizmo dashed into the next room.

"Jinx, I'm twenty feet away from the center," he bragged. "Bet you didn't expect that, did you, peanut brain?"

Silence.

"Jinx," Gizmo tried again. "I'm almost to the center. Are we ready for Abduction Pattern Delta?" He held the communicator up to his ear, listening intently for a response.

Static crackled into his ear.

Nothing else.

Growing slightly concerned and irritated, Gizmo stormed off towards the mark.

"That slugface is ignoring for calling her names, I'll bet," he snarled. "I'll teach her to ignore me..."

With a push of the button on the side of the metal doorway, the automatic doors slid open, letting Gizmo stride through before gliding shut silently.

"Jinx! I'm here!" he announced, looking around. "Jinx? Where are you?"

Night vision goggles still in place, Gizmo carefully scanned the area for forms of life.

Nothing.

Unfamiliar cold terror sank through him, settling heavily around his stomach. Where were they? What had happened to them? They should be here...

"Jinx?" Gizmo called quietly. "Mammoth? Jinx?"

A flickering light caught his eye, and Gizmo turned to look at the source of it. A familiar-looking object lay on the center of the carpet, apparently having been dropped He moved closer, peering at the strange device.

Recognition flared in his eyes and his breath caught in his throat.

Jinx's communicator was lying on the floor, forgotten.

No HIVE student would _ever_ willingly give up his or her communicator or be so brash as to leave it behind. This, Gizmo knew with absolutely certainty. It had been branded into them from day one. So he knew Jinx would have never let go of her communicator.

Unless, of course, it had been pried from her cold, dead fingers...

Shaking his head violently, trying to stop himself from panicking, Gizmo scowled. _I am not scared!_ He told himself firmly. He walked towards the communicator, before hesitating.

_It's just lying out in the open, _a tiny voice in his head observed. _Why would it be there? This must be a trap._

Gizmo snorted. "No one knows we're here," he said aloud. "So there's no way it would be a trap."

_It's a trap,_ the voice in his head insisted. _Don't pick it up. _

"It is **not** a trap!" he told himself. "I'm just overly paranoid from playing Silent Hill 3 earlier."

_It's a trap…_

"No it's not!"

_It's a trap…_

"No, it's not!"

_It's a trap…_

"NO, it's not!"

In a rash act of defiance against himself, Gizmo grabbed the communicator off the floor.

"See?" he said aloud. "Nothing happened."

Suddenly, a red spotlight flickered on above him, illuminating his fearful features A siren began to wail and lights flashed outside. Gizmo jumped, terrified, nearly wetting himself.

"Gizmo," a deep voice boomed. "Surrender. It is your end."

"It is not, barf face!" Gizmo snarled. "The cops have never caught me, and they never will!"

"You misunderstand," the voice said darkly. "The police are next door, investigating a jewelry heist. They are not here for you."

"W-where are Jinx and Mammoth?" Gizmo demanded, hating himself for the telltale quiver in his voice.

"They have been dealt with accordingly," the voice said, the deep tenor echoing through the room ominously. "Your time, Gizmo, as at an end."

"Like I'll ever go to jail," he said defiantly, sticking his tongue out, fiercely ignoring the goose bumps that were popping up all over his skin, despite the warm night.

"Again, you misunderstand," the voice said. "It is not your time as a criminal that is at its end." The voice paused, before intoning darkly, "It is your time on Earth."

Strange lights suddenly flickered into view all around, and Gizmo turned around rapidly, his eyes wide. Blood red candles surrounded him in a circle, with eerie cloaked figures in between them.

"W-what's going on?" Gizmo stuttered, petrified. A lone figure garbed in a dark robes moved forward, his face hidden in the shadows.

"You are dead, Gizmo," the figure said, his icy voice washing waves of terror over him. "I have come to take you away."

"You- you're God?" Gizmo said feebly. The figure laughed. It was a cold laugh, high and cruel, and sent shivers running down Gizmo's spine.

"I'm afraid not," the figure said, harsh amusement in his tone. "You're not going to heaven, Gizmo."

Gizmo whimpered pathetically as the figure moved forward.

"You're going to hell."

Gizmo cried out, nearly wetting his pants as the figure grew closer and closer, leaning down to peer directly at Gizmo, who's beady eyes looked back with absolute terror.

Suddenly, the creatures hood fell off, and a brown and red eye looked directly at Gizmo, an eerie toothy grin mere inches away from his face.

"Boo."

Gizmo shrieked with terror, and promptly fainted, collapsing back onto the floor and lying there, motionless.

"Ha ha!"

The lights flickered on, and the candles and other eerie apparitions vanished in the light. A strange, large man was dancing around the body of the unconscious criminal, the fluorescent lighting glinting off his metal body.

"Booyah!"

"Really, Cyborg," Raven said, rolling her eyes, moving out from behind a sculpture. "Did you have to scare him shitless?"

"Yes!" Cyborg said, a defiant gleam in his eyes. "He totally deserved it! That little punk is nothing but trouble!"

Raven sighed. "Will you ever grow up?" she deadpanned, moving to pick up the communicator he had used as bait.

"I think we know the answer to that one," a feminine voice said, "and that's _mine_."

"Relax," another voice said from behind. "We're all on the same side, after all."

"Jinx, Robin," Raven said, smiling slightly as the two emerged from behind a pillar.

"Everything go smoothly?" Robin asked, looking at Gizmo's still form on the floor.

"For the most part," Raven commented, shooting a dark look at Cyborg.

"Gizmo deserved it anyway," Jinx said airily, waving a hand. "You have _no_ idea how aggravating it is to put up with him day after day."

"You could always come with us," Cyborg said slyly, slipping an arm around Jinx's shoulders. "You wouldn't have to put up with the little guy anymore, you know."

Jinx smirked. "Thanks, but no thanks, Cy," she responded. "I'm perfectly content with my current role."

"I would hope so," Robin said, smiling, his own arm around Raven. "Your role as a spy inside the HIVE is very helpful. Without you, we would've had no idea about the theft planned for tonight."

"I'm not your spy," Jinx said, sniffing. "I simply inform you of our goings-on whenever it suits my own motives."

"In other words," Raven shot back at her, "you do it so you can see Cyborg."

Jinx flushed, her cheeks matching her hair. Cyborg laughed.

"C'mon, Jinx," he said, taking her hand. "Let's take Gizmo and go make sure BB and Star handled Mammoth."

"Sure," Jinx said, smiling at him.

"I think he just wants some time alone with Jinx before he has to pretend he captured her and send her to jail," Robin said in a loud stage-whisper to Raven, grinning.

"You think?" Raven whispered back loudly.

"Aw, shut up," Cyborg said, his face flaming as he and Jinx walked into the next room, dragging Gizmo by his collar. Robin grinned at Raven, who smiled back.

"He's the biggest a drama queen ever," Raven noted. "Honestly, making holograms just to scare someone? He seriously needs a life."

"He's showing off for Jinx," Robin told her, smiling. "I must admit, your idea to make Jinx a spy was excellent. The HIVE never suspects her simply because she's one of their long-standing students."

"It fits her," Raven shrugged. "She gets to be bad while being good as well. She would never stand for being seen in a good light, anyway."

"Very true," Robin smirked. He looked up through the skylight, before turning back to Raven. "It's almost dawn," he told her. "Think you should go make your statement to the press?"

"The press is here?" Raven exclaimed. "It's the middle of the night!"

"They heard sirens, so they followed," Robin said simply. "The T-Car parked outside didn't help matters, either."

Raven groaned and rolled her eyes. "I don't want to deal with them!" she said flatly. "They've been bugging me for the past month!"

"Can you blame them?" Robin mused. "Ever since you hugged me after the Trigon fiasco, rumors of our relationship have run rampant in the papers."

"Come on," Raven said, tugging his hand as she headed for the exit. "I want to get this over with."

"You know," Robin said, smirking. "You could just _tell_ them that we're together."

"And justify all their spying around?" Raven shot back. "I don't think so."

"If you confirm their suspicions, they'll have their fun, and then they'll drop it," Robin reasoned, climbing down the stairs to the exit, Raven gliding alongside him.

"Then they'll start with the pregnancy gossip again," Raven retorted. "It never stops. The paparazzi will always come up with something new."

"Come on, Raven," Robin pleaded. "What harm could it do?"

"Didn't we just go over this?" Raven said blandly, pushing open the door. "I said no."

"Raven!"

Raven and Robin stopped abruptly, momentarily blinded by all the flashes going off in their faces. Shaking her head, Raven scowled at the press, their notebooks and camera's visible in the approaching dawn.

"Raven! Care to make a statement on the events of tonight?"

"Fine," Raven said, scowling at the reporter. "We were on alert because of the Gala Exhibit, and when the alarm went off, we came and fought the HIVE. End of story."

"Raven!" a reporter called. "Who set off the alarm?"

"Gizmo," Raven said flatly. "He unlocked a decoy alarm system, alerting us to the presence of the HIVE."

"Raven-"

"LIAR!"

A grenade came hurtling out of nowhere at Raven, accompaninied by a loud yell. Reflexively, Robin threw himself over Raven, knocking her over, sending them both to the ground as he instinctively shielded her with his body. The grenade hit the museum wall, the explosion creating a deep scar and sending small chunks of brick and mortar flying.

Coughing, Robin extended a hand and helped Raven, who was covering her mouth with her cloak, to her feet. She turned to look in the direction of the scream to see Beast Boy and Starfire struggling to restrain an irate Gizmo.

"You stupid slughead!" Gizmo yelled, straining against Starfire's efforts to put him into the police transport unit. "I did **not** unlock a decoy alarm! You guys were already there! How did you know we would be there! How did you know! How did you-" Gizmo's voice was abruptly cut off as Beast Boy stuffed a sock into his mouth and flung him into the transport unit.

"Sorry about the grenade," he said sheepishly. "He got away for a second, and Cyborg hadn't bothered to take his pack off him."

"No problem," Robin said, still clearly shaken. Raven stayed against his chest, still holding his hand, trying to get her bearings.

"We'll see you back at the tower!" Beast Boy called, as he and Starfire took off, accompanying the HIVE to jail.

"Idiots," Raven muttered. Robin smirked.

"Raven! Are you and Robin together?"

All too late, Raven realized she was still wrapped in Robin's arms, despite the press standing right in front of them.

"Damn it," she swore quietly.

Robin looked down at Raven, who looked back at Robin. Clamors of "Raven! Care to confirm rumors about your relationship?" and "Raven! Is it true that you and Robin are a couple?" surrounded them.

"What's the big deal?" Raven muttered. "Everyone's in relationships. Why is ours special? There's no point in talking about it."

Robin smirked.

"Want to give them something to talk about before we go?" he posed, smiling.

Raven looked at him suspiciously. "Like what?" she said, her eyes narrowed slightly.

Before she knew what was happening, Robin had flipped her hood off her head, and in one smooth move, he had dipped her back and was kissing her. Raven heard the screams of reporters and was dimly aware of flashbulbs going off before she tuned them out, focussing on kissing Robin back instead. To hell with the reporters, anyway.

Smiling widely, Robin pulled her back up, grinning at her flushed face. In a sweeping motion, he picked up up bridal style, carried her down the stairs, and deposited her on the back of his R-cycle, the press screaming madly as he got on infront of her.

"Ready, love?" he asked, smiling, as he handed her a helmet. He laughed, and Raven locked her arms around Robin's waist as he thumbed the starter, the motor roaring to life. With a flourish, he flipped up the kickstand, and tore off into the sunrise, the press screaming behind them.

"I was wrong," Raven said flatly, though a smile sparkled in her eyes, unseen by her pilot.

"Wrong about what?" Robin asked, puzzled.

"Wrong about calling _Cyborg_ the biggest drama queen ever," she responded, smiling, her voice nearly drowned out from the rising wind noise.

Robin just laughed.

_Finis_

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And that's the end! ((smiles))

There wasn't too much of Jinx, which I know everybody wanted, but I think the ending fits. It wraps things up quite well.

So, what did you think? Of the epilogue, and of the entire story? One way to tell me...

Review!


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